Canada nixes MDA space firm sale to U.S.

OTTAWA, April 10 (UPI) -- The Canadian government has vetoed the $1.3 billion takeover of aerospace company MDA Corp. by a U.S. company.

Alliant Techsystems Inc. of Edina, Minn., had the offer on the table for MDA, also known as MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. MDA specializes in the design and manufacture of the robotic Canadarm used on the International Space Station as well as the cloud-penetrating Radarsat-2, a remote-sensing satellite that allows observation of the Arctic, the Globe and Mail reported.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice notified Alliant Tuesday the deal had been nixed in the best interests of Canada, sources told the newspaper.

Alliant has 30 days to respond to the rejection, the paper said.

The takeover bid was criticized in Canada as a threat to Canadian sovereignty as the United States doesn't recognize Canada's claims to the Arctic, the report said. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's minority Conservative government has been taking steps in the last year to beef up military presence in the far north to assert its claims to resources and shipping lanes becoming more viable due to shrinking ice-pack.