Finmeccanica's new avionics company, Galileo Avionica, is understood to be talking with telecoms group Marconi (formerly GEC) about a take-over of the UK company's Italian avionics operations. Such a deal would enlarge Galileo, strengthening its hand in merger talks with Europe's major avionics players.
Finmeccanica is unlikely to commit Galileo to a deal until it has critical mass, given its policy of seeking agreements in which it has an equal footing. It originally aimed to partner GEC-Marconi on avionics as part of a wider deal, but the scheme collapsed when BAE Systems bought Marconi. The current take-over talks relate to a rump avionics operation retained by GEC, which has kept the Marconi name.
Galileo was formed from activities controlled mainly by Finmeccanica's Alenia Difesa arm, including Meteor, Fiar and Galileo itself. Based in Florence, it has seven sites across Italy, sales of L1,000 billion ($0.46 billion), L1,500 billion of orders and employs 3,400 people. Galileo is ultimately likely to partner with Thales, BAE or EADS, with the last preferred due to the smaller size of its avionics business.
Source: Flight International
