Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

France agrees defence supergroup

Tuesday 16 February 1999 00:02 GMT
Comments

THE FRENCH government said it had agreed terms for a merger between the state-owned aerospace company Aerospatiale and the Matra defence unit of the Lagardere group, in a deal which will create a French powerhouse in the defence industry. Lagardere will pay up to Ffr2bn (pounds 220m) for 33 per cent of the Aerospatiale-Matra group. The French state's holding in the new group will fall below 50 per cent after a flotation later this year.

The deal follows last month's link-up between the UK defence group British Aerospace and General Electric's Marconi division. Analysts predicted that the new French group would seek out European partners.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in