Cobham to Buy Northrop Division for $73 Million

British aerospace company Cobham said Wednesday that it has agreed to buy Northrop Grumman Corp.’s life-support unit for $73 million in cash.

The Davenport, Iowa-based unit, Litton Life Support, makes air separation systems for military and commercial aircraft and made $9.8 million pretax profit in 2002 on sales of $43.7 million, Cobham said.

The acquisition would be funded from Cobham’s cash resources.

Northrop acquired the division when it bought Litton Industries Inc. for $5.2 billion in 2001.

Cobham’s military business generated nearly half of the company’s sales last year, helping to offset slower demand for commercial-aircraft parts as airlines cancel or defer orders from Boeing Co. and Airbus.

The acquisition “enhances our position in the important and growing air separation and supply industry for the aerospace and defense markets worldwide,” said Cobham Chief Executive Allan Cook.

The transaction is subject to approval from regulators.