Continental Maritime Agrees to Be Bought

Newport News Shipbuilding said that it has agreed to buy Continental Maritime Industries, a San Diego ship repair yard. The purchase price was not disclosed. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, if approved by regulatory authorities and participants in Continental’s employee stock ownership plan. Continental would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, focusing on repair programs for the Navy’s West Coast fleet. The acquisition is a key component of Newport News Shipbuilding’s strategy to broaden its base of services to the Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. San Diego is the Navy’s primary West Coast home port. The Newport News, Va.-based company designs and builds nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the Navy and builds other ships for domestic and international customers. Continental Maritime primarily repairs ships for the Navy.