SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY : Ford Aerospace Officials Work on Management-Led, Leveraged Buyout

Ford Motor Co.’s efforts to sell its Ford Aerospace subsidiary haven’t yielded concrete results yet, but several executives of the Newport Beach-based company are working on a management-led leveraged buyout, a company spokeswoman confirmed Monday.

It could not be learned exactly who was involved, but sources say that the group will find it difficult to raise money for such a buyout in the current economic climate.

Prices for the so-called junk bonds used to finance leveraged buyouts have plummeted as one-time highfliers--including retailer Robert Campeau--buckle under huge debt burdens.

Meanwhile, Ford Aerospace formally announced some good news Monday: it has received a $220-million contract to provide Chaparral antiaircraft missiles to the Egyptian military. The award carried the highest dollar value of any in the history of the Newport Beach-based Aeronutronic division, considered to be the weakest of Ford Aerospace’s far-flung operations.

But though such foreign sales generally carry high profit margins, Aeronutronic is hardly out of the woods. About half the money will flow to the six subcontractors who also are involved in the four-year contract.