U.S. defense contractor Northrop Grumman (NOC) has offered to buy Orbital ATK (OA) for $7.8 billion.

Northrop's purchase of Orbital would help sharpen its focus on small space systems, launch vehicles, missiles and munitions.

Earlier this year Orbital ATK hiked its dividend by 6.7% to $0.32 quarterly, marking the second consecutive year of dividend increases.

Orbital ATK, Inc. is an aerospace and defense systems company and supplier of related products. Its products include launch vehicles and related propulsion systems; satellites and associated components and services; tactical missiles, subsystems and defense electronics, and precision weapons, armament systems and ammunition.