Julian Moxon/PARIS
Alenia is emerging as the key target in the next phase of European aerospace consolidation, with Alberto Fernandez, president of Spain's CASA, admitting that the Italian manufacturer is being head-hunted to join the future DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa)/CASA group.
Fernandez says talks with state-owned Finmeccanica, Alenia's major shareholder, are "going in a logical direction", and adds that while the Dasa/CASA alliance remains "open to any other partners", the pair and Alenia "already understand each other very well because of the good relationship we have established through the Eurofighter programme".
Finmeccanica, which had been in the running to buy a stake in CASA, has still not given a clear message as to how, and when, Alenia will be privatised. One of its senior managers says that Alenia "is not up for sale", but adds that the Italian Government "has made it clear that its mission is to put Alenia into Europe with the best conditions possible".
One option might be a similar deal to that which formed the basis of the Dasa/CASA memorandum of understanding, in which the two will be owned by a joint holding company set up by Dasa's German-US parent DaimlerChrysler and Spanish holding company SEPI.
Dasa says incorporating Alenia into the grouping would "provide many synergies", but adds that "until we know what the Italian Government is planning we cannot say anything".
Fernandez, meanwhile, is keen to exploit the momentum created by the Dasa agreement, which he regards as groundbreaking. "We must move ahead", he says. "The Dasa/CASA deal is the first true cross-border consolidation between two companies, whereas the mergers taking place in the UK and France are nationally - and therefore vertically - oriented". He adds that the synergies with Dasa are "perfect", and that "there is no significant competition between us".
Parts of the Alenia empire are already deeply involved in merger activity. Agusta and its UK helicopter counterpart GKN Westland have announced a tie-up, while Finmeccanica and GEC have formed their defence electronics, systems integration and airspace management operations as a single operation, known as Alenia Marconi Systems. The future of the latter is open to doubt following the decision by British Aerospace and GEC to merge their defence and aerospace activities - a move which allows Alenia to decide the future of Alenia Marconi Systems.
Despite renewed optimism over moves to restructure Airbus in the wake of the Dasa/CASA deal, Fernandez says talks on the switch to single corporate entity status remain "blocked" by the failure to agree on wider restructuring.
"As long as there is no clarity on this issue it will be very difficult to agree on the Airbus portion of it," he says.
Source: Flight International
