Tie-up between Airbus, Leonardo and Thales will bring together some of continent’s leading manufacturers
Airbus, Leonardo and Thales have struck a deal to combine their space businesses to create a single European technology company that could rival Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The deal is expected to create a company with annual revenue of about €6.5bn (£5.6bn). The French aerospace company Airbus will own 35% of the new business, with Leonardo and Thales each owning stakes of 32.5%.
The as-yet-unnamed tie-up will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe, combining satellite manufacturing, space systems, components and services from the continent’s leading aerospace and defence manufacturers.
Guillaume Faury, chief executive of Airbus, Roberto Cingolani, chief executive of Leonardo and Patrice Caine, chief executive of Thales, said in a joint statement that the new company marked “a pivotal milestone for Europe’s space industry”.
