Lockheed, Titan Extend Their Merger Deadline

Lockheed Martin Corp. and Titan Corp. on Friday extended the deadline for their proposed merger because of two federal investigations that threaten to scuttle the $2.4-billion deal.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are reviewing whether San Diego-based Titan made illegal payments to overseas consultants.

Lockheed has said that the investigations threaten the deal and that it needs to determine “whether the conditions to the merger have been satisfied.”

Company spokesman Tom Jurkowsky said Friday that the Bethesda, Md.-based defense contractor wanted to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

“Given the additional time that we now have, we are going to continue to work with Titan to review all relevant information related to Titan’s relationship with international consultants,” he said.

Titan’s shareholders were scheduled to vote Tuesday on Lockheed’s proposed buyout, which had to be completed by the end of the month. After that, under the deal’s original terms, either company could pull out.

But both companies said the Titan vote had been rescheduled to April 12 to allow for an internal review and time for the federal probes to play out. The date for closing the deal was pushed back to April 20.

Titan was founded in 1981 and develops information networks, intelligence and surveillance systems for the Pentagon and other government agencies. Lockheed is the nation’s largest defense contractor.

Titan shares rose 76 cents Friday to $20.20 and Lockheed Martin dipped 15 cents to $44.48, both on the New York Stock Exchange.