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AgustaWestland Deal Inked Soon;
Eurosystems Must Still Wait
Finmeccanica's leadership hopes to imminently ink the deal giving it full control of helicopter-maker AgustaWestland, but its executives concede it will take longer to finalize the deal with BAE Systems to create Eurosystems.
It should take only a few more days to work out the transfer, which boost's Finmeccanica's stake to 100% from 50%, says company chairman and CEO Pier Francesco Guarguaglini. Since Finmeccanica already had a stake in the joint venture, it made the complete takeover under the $1.5 billion deal easier.
No such relationship existed to aid the creation of Eurosystems. That's why Eurosystems, although announced prior to the AgustaWestland deal, is taking longer to materialize, Guarguaglini suggests. He hopes final details will be resolved to allow Eurosystems to formally come into being before the fall.
Eurosystems will be comprised of four entities, with the air traffic control and military secure communications units controlled 100% by the Italian defense and aerospace giant. BAE Systems will control 60% of AMS, while Finmeccanica will hold 60% controlling share in the avionics operation. Eurosystems should add several billion dollars in revenue to Finmeccanica, indicates Roberto Testore, CEO and managing director for Finmeccanica.
To help pay for the AgustaWestland deal, Finmeccanica is selling its microelectronics business, STM. The generated cash will be key in determining if Finmeccanica's executives will pursue additional moves to rebuild the company's post-acquisition financial liquidity.
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