TRW/Lucas sale completed

TRW Inc, the parent company of Lucas brand owner TRW Automotive, and defence contractor Northrop Grumman have merged after both sets of shareholders yesterday voted unanimously in favour of the deal. This clears the way for Northrop Grumman to then sell on TRW Automotive to New York Equity House Blackstone Group for £2.99bn.

Northrop chairman and chief executive Kent Kresa says: “As we've maintained, Northrop Grumman's strategic interest is in TRW's space, electronics and systems businesses. We believe that our agreement with Blackstone is an attractive transaction for our shareholders and will allow our management team to quickly focus its full attention on integrating TRW's superior space and defence assets into our portfolio.”

Blackstone group president and chief executive Stephen A. Shwarzman says of the deal: “TRW Automotive is a leading global automotive supplier which enjoys a unique competitive position in the active and passive safety arena. We look forward to supporting the company's growth strategy as an independent company”.