The French Government has published the timetable and conditions for the privatisation of defence-electronics giant Thomson-CSF, including a surprise ban on Aerospatiale from joining the bidding.
Under the timetable, all candidates must present initial propositions for their interest in Thomson by 28 March, with the deadline for depositing firm offers set for 7 May, and 30 June scheduled as the date for a final decision.
The planned participation of Aerospatiale in the Alcatel-led bid has now been ruled out, with the Government deciding that it would be "too sensitive" for a state-owned company to take part in a privatisation deal.
The privatisation committee also wants to avoid any suggestion of preference for the Alcatel bid, although it has invited Aerospatiale president Yves Michot to "-present his recommendations".
Aerospatiale, which is itself on course to merge with privately owned Dassault Aviation, would therefore be free to trade with either Alcatel or Lagardère, depending on which emerges as the winner in June.
Alcatel chief Serge Tchurk says that Aerospatiale will still be "associated" with its bid, although Dassault becomes the main partner. The Dassault Industries holding company would therefore be in control of two merged units: Dassault-Aerospatiale in aeronautics and Alcatel-Thomson, including its Dassault Electronique unit, in defence electronics.
Lagardère also promises that its offer will "-be integrated with an Aerospatiale dimension", meaning essentially that it would bring the state-owned company's space and missiles interests together with its own Matra operations.
The Government's 18-page text, laying out the privatisation process, makes it clear that Thomson-CSF is to remain at the heart of the restructuring of the French defence-electronics industry, and not broken up into separate components.
Significantly, the document does not exclude foreign involvement, either alone or in partnership with other bids, for the 58% state-owned component of Thomson-CSF. This leaves the door open for US or European companies to enter the competition, although none has yet revealed plans to do so.
Source: Flight International
