Posted: Wed, Apr 17, 2002, 2:17 PM ET (1817 GMT)
TRW announced Wednesday that it is recommending to its shareholders that they reject the latest takeover offer from Northrop Grumman. TRW's board of directors determined that the $53/share offer was "financially inadequate". Northrop had increased its offer from $47 to $53/share late Sunday. TRW did say that it was exploring "all strategic alternatives", and said it had been approached by other, unnamed companies regarding merger possibilites. TRW's announcement came at the same time it released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2002, showing a 20 percent increase in operating earnings per share over the same quarter of 2001. TRW's shares were trading at over $54 a share, up nearly $2, by midday Wednesday.
