Talks between Thomson-CSF and Siemens on a joint venture which would create the "biggest air-traffic management [ATM] enterprise in Europe and the second-biggest in the world" are expected to be concluded in "several months", says Siemens.
The French and German concerns already have several joint industry programmes and have been co-operating in research-and-development efforts since 1993, including the development of the Operator Input and Display System for Eurocontrol.
The talks centre on creating a single organisation based in Australia, France, Germany, the UK and the USA. According to sources, Thomson-CSF Airsys (the ATM division of Thomson-CSF), would control up to 60% of the joint venture, with the UK-based ATM division of Siemens taking the rest.
The French Government recently agreed to the purchase of Thomson by the Lagardere Group, which says that it views the accord as "part of the continuing process of industry rationalisation".
Source: Flight International
