Brussels, 29/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 26 February, the European Commission announced that it had opened an in-depth investigation into the planned acquisition of Arianespace, the global leader for launches of satellites, by Airbus Safran Launchers (ASL), a producer of launchers.
Arianespace is the global leader on the market for launches of commercial satellites to geostationery transfer orbits. It has a de facto monopoly in the European markets for institutional launches. For its services, it uses launchers produced by three different companies, including the Ariane launcher, which is manufactured by ASL. ASL is a 50/50 joint venture controlled by Airbus and Safran. Airbus is also one of the leading satellite manufacturers worldwide.
In June of last year, ASL concluded an agreement with the French State and the French National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) over the transfer of the shares held by CNES in the capital of Arianespace. However, this operation would have made ASL, which already owns 39% of Arianespace, the major shareholder in the company, with 74% of the shares.
The Commission feared that the operation may lead the merged entity to: - discriminate against satellite manufacturers competing with Airbus on price or other terms regarding their access to Arianespace's launch services; - give priority to launch services connected to Ariane launchers, since ASL produces this launcher (this measure would damage the rival launcher Vega, which is produced by ELV and which currently can only be commercialised by Arianespace); - procure payload adapters and dispensers exclusively from Airbus and ASL.
The Commission has until 12 July to make a decision. When contacted by EUROPE, Arianespace and ASL both declined to comment. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer and Pascal Hansens)