Veridian investors to vote on sale

Shareholders of systems integrator Veridian Corp are set to vote next week on a buyout offer from General Dynamics Corp.

The proposed merger completed a mandatory waiting period earlier this week, during which the Defense Department and Federal Trade Commission raised no objections. The completion of the period, required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, clears the way for the shareholder vote, now scheduled for August 7.

General Dynamics, based in Falls Church, Va., proposed on June 9 to buy Arlington, Va.-based Veridian for $1.5 billion, including assumption of about $270 million in debt.

Veridian, with 7,300 employees, works on network security, systems development and integration, network and enterprise management and large-scale systems engineering. The company went public last year amid a surge of interest in defense and homeland security companies.

General Dynamics, based in Falls Church, Va., has about 57,000 employees. It builds mission-critical information systems, combat systems for land and sea, ships and marine systems and business aviation.