IVAN CASTANO / MADRID
Attempt to forge country's largest aerospace group stalls over share structure
Spanish aerospace companies Gamesa and Sener and state holding company SEPI have dropped plans to form proposed new conglomerate Alerion after failing to agree on its ownership structure.
Announced last March, Alerion would have combined Gamesa Aeronautica, the aviation arm of Spanish engineering group Gamesa, with engine manufacturer Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP). The proposed company, billed as Spain's biggest aerospace group, was forecast to have achieved combined sales of around €700 million ($757 million) based on 2002 figures. The partners planned to float the group on the stock market by next month.
Analysts say problems related to the involvement of 47% ITP shareholder Rolls-Royce. The rest of ITP is owned by Sener and SEPI. The UK manufacturer had been expected to take a stake in Alerion at a later date.
Espirito Santo brokerage analyst Paula Albarran says "it made sense for them" to want ITP and Rolls-Royce. "ITP has a good client roster and Gamesa Aeronautica does not make engines," she says.
R-R is believed to have been seeking majority ownership of Alerion, decreasing the amount of equity available to the Spanish shareholders. There have also been disagreements over the value of Gamesa Aeronautica. "Sepi and Sener would have also lost a lot in the new deal and Gamesa didn't want to simply give Gamesa Aeronautica away," Albarran says.
Analysts suggest the problems were exacerbated by disputes over the location of Alerion's headquarters and selection of its president.
Gamesa says the decision to put the formation of Alerion on ice was made because of the "impossibility" of accommodating all the parties involved.
Source: Flight International
