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Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 7/97 RESTRUCTURING IN EUROPE: DASA OPTS FOR LAGARDERE by Karl Schwarz The restructuring of the European defence and aerospace industry is entering a decicive phase. In spite of national problems, Daimler-Benz Aerospace has a clear goal. It wants to substantially partake in the urgently needed increase of the global competitiveness of the European defence and space industry. According to Managing Director Dr. Manfred Bischoff, this process should ensure that "Dasa, as an administrator of the German interests, can take an equal position with an according industrial influence". Following years of unsuccessful talks with the traditional partner Aérospatiale, Dasa's management now seems to see a chance of reaching these ambitions by cooperating with the French Lagardère group (Matra). On May 6, 1997, a "strategic agreement" concerning missiles, spaceflight and defence electronics was unveiled. This includes a bundling of the activities in these areas "by including the British Matra partners in tri-lateral joint units". In detail, the following steps are planned: Spaceflight: All areas (satellites, orbital infrastructure, transport systems, operations and services) will be joined in a 50/50 cooperation. Lagardère's share would include Matra Marconi Space, 49 percent of which is held by GEC-Marconi in Great Britain. The new company would be the third largest space concern in the world (DM5 billion turnover). Dasa would fill two members of the management board and the chairman of the supervisory board. Missiles: Matra BAe Dynamics takes over 30 percent of the loss-making Dasa subsidiary LFK (Lenkflugkörpersysteme GmbH). This would give access to new markets, also leaving the option for a further national consolidation. However, negotiations with Diehl concerning the take-over of BGT have been difficult so far. Defence electronics: In this area, another 50/50 company will be set up in which the partners would "join their current and future activities in several steps. This merging will include the areas command, reconnaissance, communication and information systems". However, the concrete realization of these intentions is by far not yet assured. "Among other open points, we still need the support of the politics of the three countries", says Bischoff. This, however, is not a sure thing in France. After the surprise parliamentary elections the question arises who will win if the privatization of Thompson-CSF really goes ahead. Here, Lagardère (even with full support from Dasa and British Aerospace) has to face Alcatel-Alsthom which has joined with Dassault Industries. These two companies' heads, Serge Tchuruk and Serge Dassault, are loudly propagating a pure French solution, enabling this formation to negotiate from a stronger position about European cooperations afterwards. For them, Lagardère's intention is coming close to a betrayal on the French position. Aérospatiale is pretty much disappointed after Dasa's change of frontiers also. Company head Yves Michot even threatened with consequences concerning the restructuring of Airbus Industrie if Dasa and British Aerospace join against France. Still, Aérospatiale was probably not at all surprised by Dasa's strategy. The years of negotiating the merging of Dasa's and Aerospatiale's satellite and missile activities were broken off unsuccessfully eight months ago - not in the least because of lots of conditions such as the German participation in the Helios reconnaissance satellite. From page 48 of FLUG REVUE 7/97 Home | Update | Latest Issue | Gallery | FR Profile | Datafiles | FR 7/97 Copyright 1997 by Motor-Presse Stuttgart. All rights reserved. Last updated June 4, 1997