Raytheon Leading Hughes Bid Fight

Raytheon Co. appears to be leading the bidding war with Northrop Grumman Corp. to acquire the defense assets of GM’s Hughes Electronics for about $9.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal said Monday.

Officials of General Motors Corp. were close to deciding a winner in the bidding battle for the Hughes missile and defense-electronics holdings but the outcome had not yet been announced, the report said.