French and Italian newspapers have reported that a restructuring plan for French aerospace group Thales, including a 25-30% stakeholding by Finmeccanica, has been presented to the French finance minister Thierry Breton. Speculation is growing that the current shareholders of Thales – Alcatel and the French government – would join to form a common shareholding bloc, while another bloc will be represented by Finmeccanica. In the new group, Alcatel would have 25% of the stock and would contribute its space assets, with Finmeccanica participation ranging from 25-30%, including its defence electronics activities. Alcatel and Finmeccanica are already merging their space activities in two joint-venture companies. Meanwhile, Finmeccanica is to reshuffle its top management following the resignation of three board members.
Source: Flight International
