Guy Norris/LOS ANGELES
REPORTS THAT Rockwell International is, actively seeking a buyer, for its aerospace and defence businesses have been greeted with silence, from the US corporation.
Although the bulk of the aerospace business is understood to be for sale, the group's Collins Commercial Avionics is not believed to form part of the proposed sell-off, according to reports appearing in the 20 March edition of the Wall Street Journal.
Speculation has been growing that Rockwell had been planning a disposal to allow it to concentrate on its growing manufacturing automation and automotive businesses. The aerospace and defence businesses account for just over one-third of the group's $13 billion sales, but have been hit by cutbacks in US spending on military and space programmes.
Hughes Electronics was originally tipped as a likely buyer, but its interest is since said to have waned. Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, having ended their own discussions, are tipped as possible buyers. None of the potential bidders has confirmed the reports.
The Collins, commercial avionics business, is apparently excluded from the sale, because of the prospect of rising profits, on the back of the accelerating recovery, of commercial aviation. Unlike other parts of the group's aerospace interests, sales have been growing at Collins, approaching $1.4 billion in Rockwell's last financial year to September 1995.
By contrast, the defence-electronics business, which includes command, control and communication systems, tactical weapons and various sensors and weapons, saw sales down below $1 billion in 1995. They are expected to fall further.
The space business has also been shrinking, with sales falling below $2 billion. The business includes operation and support of the Space Shuttle, propulsion systems for the Atlas and Delta expendable rockets and participation in the continuing competition for the X-33 reuseable launch -vehicle programme.
A plan to develop a reuseable launcher for small satellites, the X-34, in partnership with NASA and Orbital Sciences, was recently abandoned. Rockwell's aircraft business has also seen its sales edge down to $565 million.
Despite the falling revenues, all of the businesses have been making strong profits and would bring a backlog of around $8 billion.
Source: Flight International
