Parker-Hannifin to sell Avon, Ohio-based unit for $440 million

MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio—Parker-Hannifin Corp. has reached an agreement to sell its Avon, Ohio-based aircraft wheel and brake division—a move required to close its $8.7 billion acquisition of British aerospace and defense supplier Meggitt P.L.C.

In a May 23 news release, the company said it signed a deal to sell the division to Kaman Corp. of Bloomfield, Connecticut, a manufacturer of components and materials for aerospace and defense, industrial and medical markets.

Kaman, in its own news release on the deal, said it will pay $440 million for the division.

Parker in April announced that the European Commission had cleared the company's big acquisition of Meggitt, with one of the deal conditions being the divestment of the Aircraft Wheel and Brake Division. The division, which makes aircraft wheel and brake systems and related hydraulic products for general aviation, business aviation, rotorcraft and military aircraft markets, has annual sales of about $70 million, according to the May 23 news release.

Parker last month declined to disclose the number of employees at the Avon operation.

Closing of the sale is subject to regulatory approvals. Parker's pending acquisition of Meggitt "remains subject to approval of this divestiture by the European Commission and ongoing review by other governments and regulatory authorities, including the U.K. Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the U.S. Department of Justice," the company said.

Parker, a maker of motion and control technologies, said it "continues to expect the Meggitt acquisition to close" in the third quarter of this year.