L3Harris Technologies Inc., the aerospace and defence company, is exploring a sale of its avionics business, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The US company is working with an adviser on the sale, which could fetch about $1 billion based on typical earnings multiples, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. The asset could attract interest from private equity firms and strategic buyers, they said.

No final decision has been made and L3Harris could opt to hold onto the business, according to the people. A L3Harris spokesperson said “we are always evaluating our business but we’re not going to comment on market speculation.”

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With a divestiture, L3Harris would join large aerospace and defence companies selling non-core assets. Raytheon Technologies Corp. is in talks to offload some flight control and actuation activities to France’s Safran SA.

 The avionics unit makes electronic systems for commercial and military aircraft including flight control instruments, radio and navigation systems. Shares of L3Harris have fallen about 15% in the past year as elevated material costs sap margins, valuing the company at about $37 billion. 

Source: BNN Bloomberg

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