Northrop to Buy Space-Sensor Business

Northrop Grumman Corp. agreed to buy GenCorp Inc.’s space-sensor business for $315 million to broaden sales of space-based battlefield-management services. The business, Aerojet-General, had $323 million in sales last year and employs 1,400, Northrop said. Aerojet-General has facilities in Azusa and in Boulder and Colorado Springs, Colo., Northrop said. Aerojet-General makes space-based sensors for early-warning systems, ground systems that process data from space and other products. Northrop, best known as the developer of the B-2 stealth bomber, said the purchase will add to its missile-defense and defense-electronics business. Shares of GenCorp, based in Rancho Cordova, Calif., rose 89 cents to close at $12, and Los Angeles-based Northrop fell $1.80 to close at $93.20, both on the NYSE.