EADS strengthens its position in satellite communications
EADS multiplies acquisitions. The parent company of Airbus announced Monday that its subsidiary Astrium took possession, for 673 million euros, Vizada, a specialist in satellite services. She took over the participation of the fund Apax Partners.
Vizada, which employs over 700 people and has a turnover of 458 million euros, was born from the merger of satellite communications Norwegian Telenor and France Telecom.It has 200,000 users worldwide, among them "ships of the merchant marine, emergency response agencies, government and military units, media companies, providers of telecommunications services and Internet, as well as 'business aviation, military and civilian, "said EADS.
Supplier of the U.S. government in the airline industry, Vizada has received this year a contract with the U.S. General Service Administration to "ensure access to services for mobile satellite communications to government customers and military payday loan." German and French armies are also among its customers.EADS achieves its fourth acquisition since the beginning of the year and its biggest operation since the acquisition, for 2.75 billion euros in September 2006, the 20% of Britain's BAE Systems in the capital of Airbus .
Reduce its dependence on sales of Airbus
In late June, Eurocopter has completed the acquisition of Vector Aerospace Canada for 450 million euros. Last week, Airbus has purchased the American Metron Aviation, a service provider for air traffic control, for an undisclosed sum. He launched a bid in the amount of 348 million euros in the Danish Satair, a specialist in the supply of aircraft spare parts. "These acquisitions reinforce Astrium, Eurocopter and Airbus in services and in the U.S. market," said Boris Zaïtra, corporate vice president and director of mergers and acquisitions at EADS.