Airbus Group SE (stock exchange symbol: AIR) and Safran (stock exchange symbol: SAF) will finalize today the creation of their Airbus Safran Launchers 50/50 Joint Venture, which becomes a fully-fledged operational company.
Airbus Safran Launchers was already managing launcher program activities and associated equity stakes, and with this closing, the company officially incorporates the parent companies' assets and subsidiaries related to its core business.
Airbus Safran Launchers employs approximately 8,400 personnel in France and Germany and is the head company in a group that is comprised of 11 subsidiaries and affiliates: APP, Arianespace, Cilas, Eurockot, Eurocryospace, Europropulsion, Nuclétudes, Pyroalliance, Regulus, Sodern and Starsem. Airbus Safran Launchers inherits a portfolio of products and services that will enable the firm to deliver innovative and competitive solutions to numerous customers around the world.
This final step is the culmination of an ambitious strategic initiative, started in 2014, to reshape the launcher industry in Europe and better serve French, German and European strategic interests. In order to obtain a 50 percent stake in Airbus Safran Launchers, Safran will make an economic equalization of 750 million euros.
Tom Enders, CEO of Airbus Group, said, "With the closing of this agreement, Airbus Safran Launchers becomes fully operational and will focus all its efforts on delivering more competitive solutions to its customers. Top of the list is the next generation Ariane 6 launcher, which is due to have its maiden flight as early as 2020."
Philippe Petitcolin, CEO of Safran, said, "Achieving such a radical transformation is a complex and challenging task. But it sets us firmly on the path to a more integrated, more efficient and more competitive European launcher industry."