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By Vago Muradian
FARNBOROUGH, England--The U.S. and French governments continue to assess the planned command and control joint venture between Raytheon (RTNA/RTNB) and France's Thomson-CSF (PHO) as the two companies hammer out final legal details of the ground-breaking deal, according to senior executives and officials.
"It's about dotting the i's and crossing the t's," one senior Raytheon executive told Defense Daily International last week during the Farnborough Airshow here. "We wanted to have everything ready to go at the show (Farnborough), but the French and U.S. governments still have some outstanding issues, but both have said 'We support you in principle.' So we expect to have everything wrapped up by the fall."
It remains unclear what impact the French summer holiday season, which usually encompasses all of August, will have on the timing of the deal, sources added.
The two companies for more than a year have been negotiating a joint venture company that would unite their command and control businesses in what would be the...