Spanish aerostructures manufacturer looks to alliances to add shareholder value
Italian state holding company and Alenia parent Finmeccanica is in talks to acquire a large minority stake in Spanish aerostructures manufacturer Gamesa Aeronautica.
Gamesa says the "conversation is at the stage where we are studying and negotiating the different options", although "no binding document has been signed yet". It declines to comment on Spanish press reports that Alenia is prepared to buy "30% or more" of Gamesa's aeronautical unit.
"These conversations are part of our strategic plan to create a powerful aeronautical group that adds value for our shareholders," Gamesa says, adding that the failed Alerion merger plan, which would have brought the company together with Spanish aerospace engineering powerhouse Sener and engine manufacturer ITP, "was a first attempt to speed up the goals" defined in the plan.
While on that occasion Gamesa intended to spin off its aeronautical arm after the merger to float it on the stock exchange, "since the cancellation of the Alerion project, Gamesa has been open to conversations with other aerospace companies as the creation of value would not necessarily have to be materialised by an IPO", it says.
Meanwhile, Gamesa has bought several smaller manufacturers specialising in composite structures, including NMF Europe and ICSA, and has taken a purchase option on Intec Air.
Gamesa Aeronautica, part of the publicly traded Gamesa group and in the portfolio of industrial holdings of the Spanish BBV Bank, is a risk-sharing partner with manufacturers such as Embraer, for which it supplies wing and fuselage assemblies for regional jets, as well as Bombardier and Sikorsky.
RAINER UPHOFF / MADRID
Source: Flight International
