Alenia Aermacchi, AgustaWestland, Selex and DRS parent Finmeccanica has closed the sale of a nearly 40% stake in its troubled Ansaldo Energia power generation business, for €277 million ($378 million) to Italian investment fund Fondo Strategico Italiano.
The transaction – which values Ansaldo at €777 million – removes its debt from Finmeccanica’s books. It will also bring Finmeccanica up to €130 million additional cash in 2014-2016, depending on performance, and leaves Finmeccanica with 15% to be sold by put and call during the second half of 2014. It will cut the group's net debt by some €460 million. The debt stood at €3.4 billion at the end of 2012.
After a disastrous 2011, which saw Finmeccanica lose more than €2.3 billion on huge losses at its power and bus and rail transport divisions – along with a €750 million charge against faults in fuselage sections and horizontal stabilisers it supplies to Boeing’s 787 programme – the group initiated a radical restructuring. Finmeccanica is now focusing solely on aerospace, defence electronics and security.
The group will publish its 2013 financial results on 19 March.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
