Northrop to pay 111 million dollars to settle overcharging dispute

LOS ANGELES (AFP) Jun 09, 2003
Northrop Grumman said Monday it will pay 111 million dollars to settle federal charges of overcharging on government defense contracts at its recently acquired TRW business.

The lawsuit dates back to the mid-1990s and revolves around allegations that certain contract costs were misclassified and improperly charged.

Northrop Grumman bought TRW last year in an acquisition that created a defense firm on the scale of Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

Los Angeles-based Northrop said said the settlement amount was contemplated in the company's acquisition of TRW and that it remains on track to generate cash from operations of 1.1 billion to 1.3 billion dollars this year.

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