Trump wonders whether Raytheon-UTC merger takes away competition

President Trump this morning questioned whether the recently announced merger of Raytheon and United Technologies would reduce competition in the defense industry.

Speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box," Trump said:

When I hear United Technologies, which is a great company – I know it well because I've bought many an Otis elevator over my lifetime – it's a great company . . . When I hear United and I hear Raytheon, which is another incredible company, the missile systems they make are incredible, when I hear they're merging, does that take away more competition? It becomes one big, fat, beautiful company. But I have to negotiate, meaning the United States has to buy things. Does that make it less competitive? Because it's . . . already not competitive.

Raytheon CEO Tom Kennedy in a conference call with analysts this morning said the two companies are "complementary; we don't have overlap."

Listen to Trump's full comments below.

President Trump said he has concerns that a merger between United Technologies and Raytheon would make it more difficult for the U.S. government to negotiate defense contracts. https://t.co/8VQwas6lcV pic.twitter.com/CJeey8HC7Z

— CNBC (@CNBC) June 10, 2019