From: benson@med.ge.com (Mark Benson)
Subject: Re: GE Aerospace
Reply-To: benson@med.ge.com (Mark Benson 5-4228)
Organization: GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee,  WI
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 92 21:59:42 GMT

Responding to an earlier query - the following lifted from internal GE mail
and redistributed (gasp) without permission.  Having heard this on NPR, I
believe it to be no problem...

----------------

MARTIN MARIETTA TO AQUIRE GE AEROSPACE FOR $3.05 BILLION IN CASH, SECURITIES 

WASHINGTON (NOV. 23) UPI - The Martin Marietta Corp. and General Electric Co.
jointly announced Monday they have reached a definitive agreement to merge GE's
Aerospace businesses into Martin Marietta in a deal valued at $3.05 billion. 

Under terms of the transaction, GE will receive cash and $1 billion in
convertible preferred stock in Martin Marietta. 

Martin Marietta will support GE's nomination of two additional members to its
expanded board of directors. 

The merger will combine two of the nation's leading aerospace research and
development organizations and will expand the new Martin Marietta's competitive
position in such diversified markets as space, communications, defense,
electronics, information, technical services, materials and energy. 

The GE Aerospace businesses that will join Martin Marietta are major suppliers
of satellites, radar and sonar systems, simulation systems, communications
systems, government technical services and other aerospace and defense systems.

Revenues from these operations in 1991 exceeded $6 billion. 

The merger also provides for Martin Marietta's use of General Electric's
Corporate Research and Development Center as part of a continuing cooperative
agreement between the two firms. 

With the addition of the GE operations, Martin Marietta's annual revenues will
nearly double, approaching $11 billion, including approximately $3 billion in
sales from commercial and civil government customers. 

Martin Marietta's backlog will increase to $19 billion, not including $9
billion in Department of Energy operating contracts. 

The merger has been approved by both Martin Marietta's and General Electric's
Boards of Directors but is subject to government review and the approval of
Martin Marietta shareowners. 

The transaction is expected to close during the first half of 1993. 

Included in the transaction are GE Aerospace, headquartered in Valley Forge,
Pa., and with major locations in Syracuse, Binghamton and Utica, N.Y.;
Moorestown, Cherry Hill, East Windsor and Camden, N.J.; Pittsfield, Mass.;
Burlington, Vt.; and Daytona Beach, Fla. 

Also included in the transaction are GE Government Services, headquartered in
Cherry Hill, N.J.; Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in Niskayuna, N.Y.; and the
Machinery Apparatus Operation in Schenectady, N.Y. 

Martin Marietta's employment will be about 94,000 people, including 27,000
engineers and scientists. 

Norman R. Augustine, chairman and chief executive officer of Martin Marietta,
and John F. Welch, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of General
Electric, said the merger was ''a significant milestone in the creation of
stronger, healthier, more competitive companies as the aerospace industries
undergo necessary consolidation. 

''We expect substantial benefits for our customers, shareowners and employees
as a result of this agreement,'' Augustine and Welch said. 

''The GE and Martin Marietta businesses are very complementary. Through the
more efficient use of facilities and resources and with the application of a
broader range of advanced technologies, Martin Marietta will enhance its
effectiveness in meeting the nation's substantial ongoing national security and
commercial aerospace requirements,'' Augustine and Welch said. 

''The new company will be a lower cost, more competitive and more innovative
global supplier,'' they added. 

Augustine said ''This agreement brings together two outstanding organizations
to create an even stronger one and will have both immediate and long-term
value. 

''We often have been partners with GE Aerospace and we have a great deal of
admiration for its excellent employees as well as for the quality of their
technology and products. 

''This new Martin Marietta meets our three strategic objectives for continued
prosperity, strengthening of our core businesses, expansion into
closely-related civil and commercial markets, and enhancement of shareowner
value,'' Augustine added. 

Welch said ''This merger is consistent with a belief central to GE management
strategy over the past decade, that businesses must be number-one or number-two
in their marketplace to succeed in the highly competitive global arena, or have
a way of getting there. 

''This merger will allow the new company to walk into the global arena as
number-one in its industry, with twice the resources and a fraction of the
overhead of the two companies that created it. 

''We at GE have a long-term commitment to this new company. The agreement
presents a unique opportunity for GE Aerospace employees to be part of a
dynamic enterprise that is well-positioned for the challenging
businessenvironment ahead,'' Welsch added. 

--
Mark Benson					benson@med.ge.com
GE Medical Systems (until they sell us:^)	Milwaukee, WI   USA
Newsgroups: sci.space