Airbus sells additional stake in Dassault Aviation

Airbus Group NV said it sold additional shares in Dassault Aviation SA, cutting its holding in the maker of the Rafale fighter to 24.6 percent and using the proceeds to fund growth.

Airbus said it sold 1.61 million shares in total, with 71 percent of the lot going to institutional investors for 1,030 euros a share and the remainder to Dassault for 980 euros apiece, according to a statement today. The transaction corresponds to 1.64 billion euros ($1.8 billion), Airbus said.

The French manufacturer began cutting its stake of about 46 percent in Dassault in November, after inheriting its holding via one of its predecessor companies more than a decade ago from the French government. It never reaped synergies by working with Dassault and held the shares as a financial investment.

“The strong demand from investors clearly shows the underlying quality of the Dassault Aviation business, and through this latest share sale, the free float is considerably increased,” said Marwan Lahoud, Airbus’s head of strategy.

- Advertisement -

Dassault won its first export order for Rafales this year, for 24 to Egypt. The company gets about 70 percent of sales from corporate jets, such as the Falcon, and the rest from combat aircraft. Airbus competes in war planes as part of its role in the Eurofighter Typhoon programs, which it co-produces with BAE Systems Plc and Finmeccanica SpA.

India’s government chose Dassault in 2012 to supply at least 126 Rafales though contract signatures on the $11 billion order have been delayed by a requirement for quality guarantees from the manufacturer for planes to be made locally under license by Bangalore-based Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase & Co. are acting as joint bookrunners on the placement on behalf of Airbus, the company said.

No posts to display