Northrop to Extend Bid for Newport News

Northrop Grumman Corp. said it will extend its hostile bid for Newport News Shipbuilding for a third time, despite the fact that the Virginia company has essentially rejected the offer.

The deadline was moved from Thursday to Aug. 2. The announcement was made after the stock market closed.

Newport News declined to comment.

Los Angeles-based Northrop first made the surprise bid in May, saying it would match the $67.50-per-share offer being tendered by defense contractor General Dynamics of Falls Church, Va.

The Newport News board has said the all-cash General Dynamics bid offers a more certain value than Northrop’s, which is a mix of cash and stock.

The government has expressed concern that if the General Dynamics offer goes through, the combined company would have too big a share of U.S. military research and development, especially in nuclear technology.