BOEING PUMPS $7 BILLION INTO SHARES
STOCK Boeing is to repurchase up to $7 billion of common stock. The company, which a week ago posted a $1.1 billion third quarter net profit and cut 2008 revenue forecasts owing to 787 delays, has bought some $8 billion of its stock since resuming repurchases during 2004. The repurchases will be made on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.
AURORA ACQUIRES PAYLOAD SYSTEMS
SPACE Unmanned aircraft maker Aurora Flight Sciences has bought Payload Systems for an undisclosed sum. Payload built the Spheres miniature constellation of free-flying satellites now deployed aboard the International Space Station. Key Aurora programmes include the Northrop Grumman Global Hawk unmanned air vehicle, for which it makes portions of the airframe. Payload Systems retains its name.
GOODRICH TO RAISE $90 MILLION FROM ATS SALe
RESULTS Higher commercial aircraft landing gear and actuation sales drove a 37% rise in Goodrich third-quarter profits to $275.9 million. Sales, including nacelles and interior and electronic systems, were up nearly 15% for the period to $1.6 billion. The company expects this quarter to net $90 million from the sale of its heavy maintenance business to Macquarie Bank (Flight International, 9-16 October). Chief executive Marshall Larsen says 2008 sales should rise with production rates at Airbus and Boeing.
SAFRAN TO SELL SAGEM COMMUNICATIONS
DIVESTMENT French aerospace and defence group Safran has entered exclusive negotiations to sell its Sagem Communications business to private equity firm Gores Group for an enterprise value of €383 million. Gores will be joined by minority stakeholders including Safran and employees. Sagem Communications employs 6,500 people and had 2006 revenues of €1.3 billion ($1.87 billion).
L-3 SALES SET QUARTERLY RECORD
COMMUNICATIONS Aerospace and defence communications systems maker L-3 Communications boosted third-quarter profits by more than a fifth to $199 million on sales up 11.1% to a record $3.45 billion. Highlights included new business to modify Lockheed Martin C-130s for international customers and aircraft and base support services for US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
LUFTHANSA DETAILS NEW BULGARIAN VENTURE
Maintenance Lufthansa Technik will open a narrowbody maintenance venture in Sofia, Bulgaria in co-operation with Bulgarian Aviation Group, which includes the country's major carriers, specialising in overhaul and D checks of Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s. The German company will own 80% of the venture, Lufthansa Technik Sofia. The partners will invest €20 million ($29 million) refurbishing a 6,000m2 (64,600ft2) hangar to create a new two-dock facility at Sofia International airport. Services will begin next October.
PRIVATE EQUITY BUYOUT FOR AMSAFE
ACQUISITION Private equity investor Greenbriar Equity Berkshire Partners has bought seatbelt and cargo restraint maker AmSafe from Pritzker Group and Admiralty Partners for an undisclosed sum. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, AmSafe operates in North America, China, Sri Lanka and the UK and turned over more than $200 million in 2006, employing about 1,450 people. Ken Beckemeyer will stay on as AmSafe president.
Source: Flight International
