L-3 Communications is to acquire Bombardier's Military Aviation Services unit for $90 million. The business, which has total systems engineering and support responsibility for Canadian Forces' Boeing CF-18 Hornet fighters, is part of Bombardier's Defence Services arm, which is up for sale as part of a wider financial restructuring of the Canadian manufacturer.
The sale is expected to close in the third quarter. Military Aviation Services, with 950 staff, has annual sales of around $80 million. It will be L-3's second Canadian purchase: in 2001 it bought Spar Aerospace.
L-3 is also believed to be in the running to buy the other half of Bombardier's Defence Services business, Military Aviation Training, which includes the NATO Flying Training in Canada (NFTC) programme. BAE Systems, which supplies Hawk jet trainers to NFTC, is also interested in acquiring the company.
Source: Flight International
