Cordant Technologies Inc

Cordant Technologies Inc., which makes booster rockets for the space shuttle, said its Huck International unit will cut 115 jobs and close its plant in Lakewood that makes aerospace fasteners. Salt Lake City-based Cordant, which has 17,000 employees worldwide, expects the moves to save about $6 million a year.

Alcoa Inc. said that it will acquire Cordant Technologies Inc. for $2.3 billion in a deal that would give the world's largest aluminum company a stronger presence in aerospace and automotives, plus new access to the burgeoning market for industrial gas turbines. The acquisition of the aerospace and industrial technology company would boost Alcoa revenue to $23.5 billion from $16.3 billion when added to Alcoa's pending merger with Reynolds Metals Co.

Alcoa Inc. said that it will acquire Cordant Technologies Inc. for $2.3 billion in a deal that would give the world's largest aluminum company a stronger presence in aerospace and automotives, plus new access to the burgeoning market for industrial gas turbines. The acquisition of the aerospace and industrial technology company would boost Alcoa revenue to $23.5 billion from $16.3 billion when added to Alcoa's pending merger with Reynolds Metals Co.

Cordant Technologies Inc., which makes booster rockets for the space shuttle, said its Huck International unit will cut 115 jobs and close its plant in Lakewood that makes aerospace fasteners. Salt Lake City-based Cordant, which has 17,000 employees worldwide, expects the moves to save about $6 million a year.

* Newbridge Networks Corp. said AT&T Corp. will use some of its high-capacity equipment that carries voice, data and video traffic in a new communications network for business customers, which may help the Canadian company win larger contracts. The value of the agreement with AT&T wasn't disclosed. * McGraw-Hill Cos. agreed to sell its Information Technology and Communications Group, which includes computer magazines Byte and LAN Times, to CMP Media Inc. for $28.6 million.

Alcoa Inc., the world's largest aluminum producer, said its second-quarter operating earnings rose 14% to $429 million, or 49 cents a share, four cents better than analysts expected. Alcoa's latest results exclude hefty charges of $144 million for idling plants in the Northwest, where power costs have soared. The Pittsburgh-based company said profit got a boost from cost-cutting and such acquisitions as Reynolds Metals Co. and aerospace maker Cordant Technologies Inc., which it bought last year.

Its merger plans with Lockheed Martin Corp. now history, Northrop Grumman Corp. will probably seek buyout candidates itself to get bigger, analysts said Thursday. But the Los Angeles-based aerospace concern could also compete effectively without acquisitions, its chief executive said.

Though still a mid-tier player in a league of aerospace giants, Northrop Grumman Corp. keeps tweaking its operations in search of faster growth--and Wall Street is finally taking notice.

* Newbridge Networks Corp. said AT&T Corp. will use some of its high-capacity equipment that carries voice, data and video traffic in a new communications network for business customers, which may help the Canadian company win larger contracts. The value of the agreement with AT&T wasn't disclosed. * McGraw-Hill Cos. agreed to sell its Information Technology and Communications Group, which includes computer magazines Byte and LAN Times, to CMP Media Inc. for $28.6 million.