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Northrop Grumman subsidiary scores $3.4B Navy contract

Northrop Grumman Systems, a subsidiary of Falls Church and giant , has been awarded a $3.459 billion by the Navy to engineer and manufacture new nuclear , according to announcements from the and the Navy last week.

E-130J jets will take the place of the Navy’s current E-6B Mercury fleet for “take charge and move out” (TACAMO), a mission to mobilize and maintain critical decision-making systems, including airborne communications, in the event of . The Mercury aircraft provides airborne command, control and communications between the National Command Authority and U.S. nuclear forces. Work began on Dec. 18, according to the Navy.

Under the contract, NGS will serve as prime contractor to integrate the TACAMO mission systems into up to six C-130J-30 air vehicles built by Lockheed Martin.

“Today is a tremendous day for the future of naval aviation’s contribution to our nation’s nuclear deterrence mission,” said Capt. Adam Scott, program manager for the Navy’s Airborne Strategic Command, Control and Communications Program Office. “With the selection of Northrop Grumman Systems as the prime contractor for the TACAMO recapitalization program, we are ready to move out with developing this critical asset. In carrying on the legacy of the E-6B Mercury, the E-130J will ensure our nation’s is always connected to its nuclear forces for decades to come.”

The U.S. Department of Defense announcement says that work will primarily be performed in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma and Indiana, among other U.S. locations, and it is expected to be completed in December 2034. Collins Aerospace and Lockheed Martin will be designated subcontractors on the project.

 

Party City declares bankruptcy, closing 700 stores, including 18 in Va.

Party City filed for Saturday and said it would “commence a wind down of its and wholesale operations and sales at its approximately 700 stores nationwide,” including 18 stores in Virginia.

The company just came out of bankruptcy in September, after bringing on a new CEO, Barry Litwin, in August. Holdco, the retail chain’s holding company, was able to cancel about $1 billion in debt through the restructuring, according to Saturday’s announcement.

Word of Party City’s plans to shutter all of its stores came out Friday, when Litwin told corporate employees that they would soon be down all of the retailer’s 700-some party supply stores across the country, and that Friday would be corporate staffers’ final day of employment, according to a CNN report.

That means 18 Party City stores in Virginia will close soon, after about 40 years in business. However, there is a silver lining for employees of two stores in the area that will remain open because they are independently owned by a franchisee.

Steve Fram, the owner of two stores on West Broad Street in Henrico County and Stonehenge Village in Chesterfield County, said Monday that his stores will remain open and are not involved in the corporate shutdown. His two stores are among 29 franchise Party City stores across the country that are run independently and the only two independent franchisees in Virginia, he said.

Nonetheless, Fram said he’s fielded lots of phone calls, texts and questions about his stores’ status from his 40 employees and customers. “Everyone’s asking questions, ‘What’s going on?'” he said. “I found out about this Thursday morning, [and] I still haven’t received any information from corporate.”

The primary change will be to the stores’ point-of-service system, which is run through the Party City company, and the 29 franchise stores are working together on an independent procurement group to purchase items sold in their stores. “For the time being, we’ll be under the Party City name,” said Fram, who’s owned his stores for about 30 years.

CNN reported that some employees received letters that the company planned to close stores Feb. 28, 2025, at which point their staffs would be terminated. Employees will not receive severance pay, and their benefits will end as the company goes out of business, Litwin said in a video call with corporate employees Friday, according to CNN.

Litwin joined the New Jersey-headquartered company as and CEO only four months ago, and Party City exited bankruptcy in September, having declared bankruptcy in January 2023 and canceling nearly $1 billion in debt. According to CNN, the company, which was founded in 1986, still had more than $800 million in debt late this year, which earnings couldn’t overcome.

“I am excited to join Party City at a pivotal time as we reposition the business for a stronger future,” Litwin said in a statement in August announcing his hiring. “Party City is a leader in party goods and , and I see many opportunities to strengthen our financial performance and build a leading end-to-end celebration experience for consumers. I look forward to working closely with our team members, the team, and the board of directors to create value for all our stakeholders.”

Party City is the nation’s largest party supply store, but the combination of the pandemic, rising costs and a helium shortage all hurt its business, CNN reported.

There are 20 Party City stores in Northern Virginia, the Richmond area, Hampton Roads, Lynchburg, Roanoke and Winchester.

Statewide home sales, inventories rose in November

The fall 2024 has outpaced the fall 2023 across the commonwealth, according to statewide November sales released Dec. 20 by .

“For two months in a row now, Virginia has seen double-digit growth in closed sales,” Ryan Price, the trade organization’s chief economist, stated in a news release.

In November, 7,853 homes sold across Virginia. That was 905 more sales than in the same month the previous year — a 13% increase.

Courtesy Virginia Realtors

Pending sales also remained above last year’s pace. Last month, Virginia had 6,863 pending sales, 905 more contracts than this time in 2023.

“This marks a strong ending to what has been an otherwise sluggish 2024 housing market for the commonwealth,” Price stated.

The number of housing sales in November in Northern Virginia rose 10.8% from the same time the previous year, according to data released Dec. 10 from the Association of Realtors.

The Hampton Roads area saw 1,899 in November, up 12.37% from the 1,690 sales recorded in November 2023 but down from October’s 2,115 sales, according to the Information Network (REIN).

The Virginia market had 18,870 active listings at the end of November, a 12% increase from the same month last year. New listings in November totaled 9,031, up 10.3% over new listings recorded in November 2023.

“Growth in new listings has been consistently stronger than last year as more sellers are choosing to enter the market,” Virginia Realtors 2025 Lorraine Arora said in a statement. “While our inventory of listings has expanded, it’s important to remember we’re looking at an inventory that is still about 40% smaller than it was this time five years ago.”

The statewide median sales price in November was $415,000, up $30,000 from November 2023. About 76% of local markets in the commonwealth saw median price growth in November.

For the week ending Nov. 7, the weekly average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.79%, according to Freddie Mac data. The following week, the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.78%. The average rate was 6.84% for the week ending Nov. 21, and for the week ending Nov. 28, the average 30-year rate was 6.81%.

As of Dec. 19, the weekly average for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.72%, according to Freddie Mac data.

Homes are selling relatively quickly but are staying on the market a bit longer than last year, according to Virginia Realtors. Statewide, homes spent a median of 16 days on the market in November, up from the 13-day median reported in November 2023.

In the Northern Virginia, homes sold in a median of 11 days in November, while in the region, homes spent a median of 12 days on the market. Hampton Roads and the areas had 19-day medians.

Based in Glen Allen, Virginia Realtors represents about 36,000 Realtors and is the state’s largest trade association.

Martinsville real estate, building supply firm names new president

The Lester Group has appointed Dana Cowart , the -based building materials and development company announced Monday. Cowart started his new job Dec. 1.

Cowart brings to more than two decades of experience in the sector. Previously, Cowart was vice president of acquisitions, vice president of sales and marketing, and filled other roles at TAL Building Centers, a Washington-based building supply company. Additionally, Cowart managed a door operation at OrePac Building Supply, an Oregon-based wholesale building materials supplier, after beginning his career at Lanoga, which later was purchased by Pro Build, both building materials businesses.

Cowart has a degree in business administration and management from the University of Washington, according to his LinkedIn page.

“His visionary and proven expertise in the building materials industry are exactly what our company needs as we continue to grow and adapt in an ever-evolving marketplace,” Jay Dickens, CEO of The Lester Group, said of Cowart in a news release. Dickens was hired as the company’s president in 2018 and named CEO in 2020, holding both positions until Cowart’s hiring.

The Lester Group acquired Williamsburg-based Custom Builder Supply this summer.

In addition to real estate management and development, The Lester Group owns Fredericksburg-based Fortress Door Co. and more than 21,000 acres of forestland in Virginia in Franklin, Halifax, Henry and Pittsylvania counties, as well as Rockingham County in North Carolina.

GDIT wins $5.57B contract to upgrade military communications system

Falls Church-based , a business unit of Fortune 100 General Dynamics, has won a $5.57 billion from the Mission Partner Capabilities Office, it announced Friday.

Awarded in November, the single-award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract has a five-year base period and a five-year option, according to GDIT’s announcement. The business unit will modernize and operate the Department of ‘s (MPE), which will “enable the and its trusted partners to securely communicate, collaborate and share information at multiple levels of classification in real time” during military missions.

“The complexity of global threats necessitates the urgency to create agile, secure and seamless information-sharing environments with our trusted partners,” GDIT Amy Gilliland said in a statement. “We look forward to implementing an integrated Mission Partner Environment that will serve as a blueprint for future efforts across the .”

Work will be performed in the Washington, D.C., area, as well as in Tampa, Florida; Hawaii and the United Kingdom, according to the DOD announcement, and work is expected to be completed by December 2035.

GDIT has more than three decades of experience in designing and operating MPE programs worldwide, including a network for the Army’s European and African outposts. The company employs about 30,000 employees in 30 countries, and reported $8.5 billion in revenue for 2023.

Smithfield to form new hog production company ahead of IPO

Smithfield Foods has inked a with VisionAg, an affiliate of North Carolina’s , to start a new hog production business early next year as the producer gears up to go public, the company announced Friday.

, a giant in packaged meats and products, will provide 28,000 sows to the new company, , a limited liability company licensed in Cary, North Carolina. VisionAg Hog Production will also own market hogs the sows produce, a number expected to reach 600,000 annually, and those animals will be produced for Smithfield’s fresh pork operations, according to the announcement.

Smithfield will provide feed, transportation and other services to the new company, and will own a minority interest. Financial terms were not disclosed Friday.

HD3 Farms, based in Elizabethtown, North Carolina, has worked as a contractor with Smithfield for more than two decades and has 250,000 wean-to-finish and finish spaces for hogs on farms in several counties in eastern North Carolina.

The largest pork producer in the United States, has about 35,000 employees nationwide and is owned by China’s , based in Hong Kong. Earlier this year the parent company announced the proposed spinoff and initial public offering of Smithfield Foods on a U.S. stock exchange. WH Group shareholders voted Dec. 6 to approve spinning off Smithfield Foods.

In September, Smithfield’s European operations were carved into an independent subsidiary now known as Morliny Foods, part of a streamlining effort before going public.

Smithfield Foods also said it would transfer some of its hog operations to a venture controlled by Murphy Family Ventures in North Carolina, Bloomberg reported earlier in December.

According to an announcement in November, Smithfield’s will take place in early 2025, and WH Group plans to offer up to 20% of Smithfield’s stock shares, reducing the parent company’s ownership to 80%. Smithfield recorded a net asset value of $5.38 billion as of Sept. 30, and its New York share offering is expected to be valued at $5.4 billion.

Leidos lands $987M Air Force contract

Leidos has won an up to $987 million Air Force to provide sustainment support for customers, the Reston-based Fortune 500 announced Thursday.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a supersonic multirole fighter used for air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack. General Dynamics initially developed the F-16 before selling its aircraft business to Lockheed Corp., which became Lockheed Martin.

Under the indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, will provide post-production support for the F-16 weapon system’s continued operation and improvement.

The contractor will provide repair and return, engineering and technical services, and analysis and resolution support for diminishing manufacturing support and material shortages, according to the ‘s Dec. 11 award announcement. The contract includes sales to Taiwan.

“We leveraged our corporate investments in AI and predictive analytics to provide our customer with a data-informed platform to increase efficiency, visibility and accountability,” Roy Stevens, Leidos’ National Security Sector , said in a statement.

Work will be performed in Reston and is expected to be completed by May 31, 2034.

More than 25 nations have procured the F-16, creating a global fleet size of about 2,200 active aircraft.

Leidos provides technology, engineering and science services to defense, intelligence, civil and health customers. It has about 48,000 employees and reported approximately $15.4 billion in 2023 revenue.

Capital One, Discover clear hurdles for $35.3B megadeal

Announced in February, -based Capital One Financial’s proposed $35.3 billion acquisition of is moving forward, with stockholders’ votes scheduled early next year, the giants announced this week.

also announced Thursday it received approval from the Office of the Delaware State Bank Commissioner on Wednesday to complete the purchase of Discover Financial Services and its subsidiary, Discover Bank, a Delaware-chartered bank. On Tuesday, both companies said special stockholders’ meetings are scheduled Feb. 18, 2025, to allow holders of Discover and Capital One common stock to vote at their company’s respective meeting to approve the .

According to Thursday’s news release, Capital One expects the transaction to close in early 2025, pending approval by both banks’ stockholders and approval by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.

The all-stock , Capital One’s largest ever purchase, has been under regulatory scrutiny. Two Capital One cardholders filed a federal class action lawsuit against Discover and Capital One in July, claiming the megadeal would violate law, but the case was paused in October, pending further action by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. In July, Capital One committed to spend $265 billion over five years to lending, philanthropy and investment if the deal goes through.

New York Attorney General Letitia James also launched an investigation to determine whether the acquisition violates the state’s antitrust laws, and in October, she asked a state judge to subpoena Capital One for documents she said she needed for her probe, Reuters reported. However, following -elect Donald Trump’s victory in November, shares of Discover and Capital One jumped, as investors appeared to have greater faith that the deal would go through under his administration.

A Fortune Global 500 company, Capital One had $353.6 billion in deposits and $486.4 billion in total assets as of Sept. 30.

Dollar Tree makes interim CEO permanent

Dollar Tree’s interim CEO, Michael C. Creedon Jr., is now the Fortune 500 discount ‘s permanent CEO.

The Chesapeake company announced the board of directors’ appointment on Thursday.

Creedon joined in 2022 as chief operating officer and was appointed interim CEO in November, after former CEO stepped down, citing health problems. Creedon joined the company following its C-suite shakeup in summer 2022.

“It’s a privilege to lead Dollar Tree at such a pivotal time,” Creedon said in a statement. “My focus will continue to be on delivering long-term value to our associates, customers and shareholders as a company that is rooted in strong values and operational excellence.”

The past year has held challenges for the , which employs more than 200,000 workers and operates 16,590 stores in 48 states and five Canadian provinces under the Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree Canada brands. Dollar Tree saw a $1.7 billion loss in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, but numbers improved by the second quarter of 2024, reported in early September. Consolidated net sales increased 0.7% to $7.37 billion that quarter, compared with the second quarter of 2023.

In its third quarter results, Dollar Tree reported $7.56 billion in consolidated net sales, up 3.5% compared with the third quarter of fiscal 2023. In its fiscal 2024 outlook, the retailer said it anticipates net sales of $30.7 billion to $30.9 billion for the year, slightly up from $30.6 billion in revenue reported last year.

At 10:41 a.m. Thursday, Dollar Tree common shares were trading for $68.69, down slightly from $69.47 at open.

Prior to joining Dollar Tree, Creedon worked for Raleigh, North Carolina-based Fortune 500 retailer Advance Auto Parts for more than six years, rising to of U.S. stores in 2020 and then executive vice president of U.S. stores in March 2021.

Before joining Advance Auto Parts, he held executive roles with Tyco International and ADT Security. Creedon has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Middlebury College. A Hampton Roads resident, he serves on the Chrysler Museum of Art’s board of directors and Norfolk Academy’s board of trustees.

In another recent C-suite exit, Dollar Tree Chief Financial Officer Jeff Davis announced in early December he would leave the company after it filed its fiscal 2024 report with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Dollar Tree common stock’s 52-week high was $151.22, which it reached on March 5, although it closed at $149.08 that day. It dropped to $128.42 on March 13, the day the retailer’s fiscal 2023 fourth quarter results were announced, then ticked up slightly in early April before beginning a descent.

After hovering around $100 for much of July and dipping into the 90-dollar range for most of August, the retailer’s stock plunged from $81.65 at close on Sept. 3 to close at $63.56 on Sept. 4, the day it released its second quarter results.