Safran confirms talks to buy some of Raytheon’s flight control activities

Shares of Raytheon Technologies Corp.
RTX,
-0.34%
gained 0.4% in midday trading Monday, after France-based aerospace and defense contractor Safran SA
SAFRY,
-1.21%

SAF,
-1.29%
confirmed it was in talks to buy some of Raytheon’s flight control and actuation activities. Safran said the potential acquisition was within the scope of a competitive process. Safran’s U.S.-listed shares dropped 1.3% in midday trading. “At this stage, it is not possible to evaluate the chances of reaching any agreement, nor is it possible to be specific about terms and conditions,” Safran said in a statement. Safran’s statement comes after Bloomberg reported that the company was in advanced talks to buy an arm of Raytheon that makes flight controls, in a deal that could be valued at about $1 billion. Raytheon’s stock has lost 4.4% year to date while Safran’s stock has run up 17.7% and the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.20%
has gained 11.9%.