WASHINGTON — L3Harris Technologies on Monday announced it’s going to sell its business aviation business to a private-equity firm affiliate for as much as $800 million, in a move to pay down debt and focus more on national security and technology.
The agreement to sell L3Harris’ Business Aviation Solutions unit to Recent York-based private-equity firm TJC comes 4 months after L3Harris closed its $4.7 billion purchase of engine and propulsion firm Aerojet Rocketdyne.
L3Harris chief executive Christopher Kubasik said in an announcement the deal will speed up how quickly the corporate can reach its desired debt load.
“Today’s announcement is consistent with our multi-year technique to optimize our national security, technology-focused portfolio,” Kubasik said. “Aligned with our capital allocation priorities, we plan to make use of the proceeds from this transaction to repay debt, which is able to speed up our timeline to succeed in our debt leverage objective.”
L3Harris said in an announcement it expects to shut the deal in the primary half of 2024, if regulators approve.
The corporate declined to comment further beyond the data in its release. TJC didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
About 1,450 people work at L3Harris’ business aviation business, whose offerings include pilot training courses and technologies, flight data analytics, avionics and advanced air mobility solutions.
TJC is a middle-market private-equity firm previously generally known as The Jordan Company.
L3Harris said in its statement the deal could include its surveillance three way partnership, and the sale could be subject to a right of first refusal. If that’s exercised, the TJC affiliate would acquire the rest of the business aviation business, L3Harris said.
As a part of this deal, L3Harris said it might receive $700 million in money, and a $100 million earnout based on financial performance targets in 2023 and 2024.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.