France’s Astrium is joining the race to buy the space assets of Italian defence and rocket equipment specialist Avio as part of a European consolidation play.
Alain Charmeau, CEO of EADS Astrium Space Transportation, said there were many synergies…
France’s Astrium is joining the race to buy the space assets of Italian defence and rocket equipment specialist Avio as part of a European consolidation play.
Alain Charmeau, CEO of EADS Astrium Space Transportation, said there were many synergies between its heavy-lift Ariane 5 rocket and the light-lift Vega launcher that Avio is prime contractor for.
Avio also produces 14% of the Ariane 5, and Charmeau highlighted a need for Europe to have one single system engineering prime contractor – rather than two separate avionic suites for the launchers.
He added that Astrium and Avio have already been cooperating under an ESA programme that is looking for ways to cut costs in the launch vehicles market, with proposals due in July.
Preliminary bids for Avio’s space assets are reportedly also due in July, but Astrium could face heavy competition from the likes of France’s Safran and Thales.
In addition to these, Italian business daily Il Sole 24 Ore claimed rival bids will also come from two unnamed operators in Germany and the US.
It estimated that the assets – left over from when General Electric acquired Avio’s aviation unit late last year – could fetch between €300m and €400m.
Paris-based aerospace giant Safran had also been gunning for Avio’s aviation business, which was eventually sold for US$4.3bn. Its CEO Jean-Paul Herteman said in February that it had started discussions to buy the space element.
Thales was unable to comment on whether it will submit a bid.
Private equity group Cinven, which owns 81% of Avio, acquired the group back in 2006. State-controlled Italian defence group Finmeccania owns 14%. However, even though Avio is of strategic importance to Italy’s government, a source close to the seller has said it was unlikely to make a sale difficult, adding that the deal with GE was well received.
Cinven declined to comment. The firm is thought to have retained Rothschild, which advised it on the aviation asset sale, for the latest bids.
