(Bloomberg) -- Safran SA is in advanced talks to acquire an arm of Raytheon Technologies Corp. that makes products including flight controls, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The French aerospace company is negotiating final terms of a deal for the Raytheon actuation unit, according to the people. A transaction could value the business at about $1 billion, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Bloomberg News reported in January that Arlington, Virginia-based Raytheon was exploring a sale of the unit. The purchase would rank as Safran’s biggest deal since its 2017 agreement to buy plane-seat supplier Zodiac Aerospace SA for nearly €9 billion ($9.6 billion) including debt, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Safran has been competing with several private equity suitors, the people said. While discussions between Raytheon and the French company are advanced, they could still falter or another buyer could emerge, the people said.
Representatives for Raytheon and Safran declined to comment.
Raytheon, led by Chief Executive Officer Gregory Hayes, consists of Pratt & Whitney, Collins Aerospace and a large defense portfolio spanning missiles, space systems and intelligence products. The actuation business sits within Collins, having first been a division of Rockwell Collins and then United Technologies prior to its merger with Raytheon, which closed in 2020.
--With assistance from Albertina Torsoli.
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