MBDA Signs LFK Agreement with EADS
* Terms and conditions for EADS/LFK to become part of MBDA now agreed
* Decisive step towards integrating Germany's No. 1 guided weapons company
Paris, 15 June 2005
EADS and MBDA announced at the Paris Air Show that the Master Understanding defining the terms and conditions for the German missile systems house EADS/LFK to become part of MBDA has been agreed and formal signature of the agreement has taken place at the show.
The Master Understanding was signed by MBDA Chief Executive Officer, Marwan Lahoud, and Tom Enders, CEO of EADS Defence & Security Systems Division and member of the Board of MBDA, and is the decisive step towards integrating Germany's No. 1 guided weapons company. Germany is the third largest missile market in Europe.
Subject to the respective Board and regulatory authority approvals, the transaction is due to be completed later this year.
The transaction will be effective from 1st January 2005.
Integrating LFK is a further step in the integration of the European missile industry, a process initiated by the creation of MBDA in 2001 by the missile group's three shareholders, BAE SYSTEMS, EADS and Finmeccanica. Under the terms of the Understanding, there will be no change to the current MBDA shareholder agreements and LFK will continue to operate as a legal entity. The company will become, however, fully integrated into MBDA post completion.
After the signing ceremony, Marwan Lahoud said: "This Master Understanding is the fundamental first step towards completing the consolidation of the European missile industry and to developing a more comprehensive strategy for ensuring Germany's guided weapons needs are met for the long term. Integrating LFK not only reinforces MBDA's leading position in the guided weapons sector but also underpins our strategy to further develop our cooperation with the USA."
Tom Enders said: "I am delighted that we have now achieved this significant step to integrate Germany's number one missile system group within the largest and most successful missile house worldwide. This is good news for LFK, for MBDA and, not least, our German customer".
EADS / LFK is the leading missile systems house in Germany with an annual turnover of approximately €350 million, appr. 1,000 employees and is currently an integrated business unit of EADS Defence & Security Systems Division. Main programmes of EADS/LFK include MEADS, Taurus KEPD 350 and LR TRIGAT.
Notes to editors
With an annual turnover exceeding € 3 billion, a forward order book of over €13 billion and over 70 customers world wide, MBDA is a world leading, global missile systems company. MBDA currently has 45 missile system and countermeasure programmes in operational service and has proven its ability as prime contractor to head major multi-national projects.
MBDA is jointly owned by BAE SYSTEMS (37.5%), EADS (37.5%) and FINMECCANICA (25%).
EADS Defence & Security Systems, with revenues of about € 5.4 billion in 2004 and roughly 24,000 employees across ten nations, forms the defence pole within EADS. It offers integrated systems solutions to the new challenges confronting armed forces and homeland security units. It is active in the areas of military aircraft, missile systems, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems with manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), battlefield management systems, defence electronics, sensors and avionics, and related services.
EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2004, EADS generated revenues of € 31.8 billion and employed a workforce of about 110,000.
Press contact:
Alexander Reinhardt
EADS
Munich
Germany
Tel.: +49 (0) 89 607 34862
mailto: alexander.reinhardt@eads.com
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