Reference News, October 22 report - According to Reuters, on Monday two informed sources said that the European aerospace group Leonardo, Airbus and Thales have reached a framework agreement on the proposed satellite business merger.
The largest satellite manufacturers in Europe have been negotiating for more than a year with the aim of creating a new satellite manufacturing company to compete more effectively against competitors led by Elon Musk's SpaceX, which has a very successful Starlink business. Reuters reported last month that these three groups have been doubling their efforts to merge their satellite businesses into a joint venture valued at around 10 billion euros, modeled after the missile business of the European Missile Group.
According to the sources, the "Bromo Project" negotiations faced obstacles this summer, as the parties could not reach an agreement on corporate management and valuation. One source said that the negotiations involved the politically sensitive allocation of technology and jobs between France and Italy, and the French government crisis did not help the negotiations.
Analysts in the relevant field said that the remaining key obstacles are the European Commission's competition review.
Previous attempts to merge satellite businesses over the past decade have failed due to antitrust concerns and inter-state competition.
However, the rapid rise of Musk's Starlink network and the market shift toward cheaper satellites have increased pressure on Europe, forcing it to either merge its assets or be pushed out of the market.
The sources said that the agreement may take up to two years to implement, and the initial package agreement is just the first step.
For years, Europe's top satellite manufacturers have been competing to build complex geostationary orbit spacecraft, but their businesses have been hit by the rise of low-cost mini low Earth orbit satellites. (Translated by Zheng Guoyi)
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