Litton to Sell Sweda Unit to British Firm

Litton Industries Inc. said Wednesday that it has agreed to sell its Sweda International division, a manufacturer of electronic cash registers and sales terminals, to the Hugin Group PLC, a privately held firm headquartered in London.

Under the sale terms in a letter of intent, Litton will receive an undisclosed amount of cash and Hugin stock. A Litton spokesman said the Beverly Hills-based conglomerate sold Sweda for its book value.

Sweda, which was bought by Litton during its acquisition heyday in 1959, had sales of $160 million in fiscal 1984, a Litton spokesman said. He had no comment on analysts’ estimates that the Sweda sale was worth between $50 million and $100 million.

Litton had declared its intention to sell Sweda, along with the rest of its business systems segment in January, 1984.

The transaction is subject to the negotiation and completion of a definitive purchase agreement and approval by the board of directors of both companies.