United Technologies’ (UTC) board of directors is expected to meet this week to discuss the bids the company has received for its Sikorsky helicopter unit, which could be valued at $5- to $8 billion. A decision could come by the end of the month.

Reports from financial media, including Reuters, indicated earlier this week that only two suitors—Lockheed Martin and Textron—remain in the bidding for Sikorsky and that UTC’s preference is for an all-cash deal. That would appear to give the nod to Lockheed Martin, whose market capitalization, at $60 billion, is much larger than Textron’s $12 billion.

Textron was reportedly pitching private equity firms in an attempt to raise the needed cash after UTC dismissed Textron’s idea of creating a Reverse Morris Trust to minimize UTC’s tax liability in divesting Sikorsky. That plan would have required UTC to take a financial interest in Textron. A Textron spokesman declined to comment to AIN and said any statement would not come from the company until its July 28 earnings conference call.

Lockheed Martin already works with Sikorsky as the system integrator for several helicopter programs, including the MH-60R&S Black Hawk variants for the Navy and Marine Corps and the new VH-92 “Marine One” presidential helicopter. Its last solo helicopter program was the AH-56 Cheyenne fast attack helicopter that was canceled in 1972 after only 10 were produced.

Lockheed Martin currently does not sell aircraft in the civil market and could conceivably sell off Sikorsky’s civil programs, which are domiciled separately from its main military programs in Connecticut at facilities in Coatsville, Pa., and Horseheads, N.Y. Last year, sales of Sikorsky’s two main civil helicopters, the S-76 and S-92, generated $1.271 billion.