Airbus, Leonardo and Thales have unveiled plans for a new European satellite group headquartered in France – a landmark alliance aimed at bolstering Europe’s space ambitions and taking on global heavyweights such as Elon Musk’s Starlink.
After months of negotiations, the three European aerospace giants signed a preliminary memorandum of understanding on Thursday to create a jointly owned satellite company that could be fully operational by 2027.
The move marks one of the most ambitious industrial mergers yet in Europe’s space sector.
French Economy Minister Roland Lescure hailed the announcement as “excellent news”, saying the deal would “strengthen our European sovereignty”.
Under the agreement, the new venture will be jointly controlled by the three companies – with Airbus holding a 35 percent stake and Leonardo and Thales each owning 32.5 percent.
Governance will be shared evenly among the partners, according to a joint statement.
If approved by regulators, the project – provisionally called Bromo – would be operational in 2027. The new group is expected to employ around 25,000 people across Europe, with annual revenues of about €6.5 billion and an order book worth more than three years of sales.
At a press conference on Thursday morning, a Thales executive confirmed that the company’s headquarters would be based in Toulouse. The south-western French city is already home to Airbus and hosts production and R&D facilities for both Thales and Leonardo.
Negotiations over governance and structure are still at an early stage, Airbus executives told journalists.
They added that there would be no rotating leadership and no management roles reserved for specific shareholders or nationalities.
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Strategic ambition
Talks with governments, trade unions and the European Commission could take up to two years, as the partners hammer out the details of a deal that will affect operations in France, Italy, Germany and the UK.
The creation of a European satellite powerhouse is designed to help the continent compete more effectively with US and Chinese rivals – and especially with Musk’s fast-expanding Starlink network, which has revolutionised satellite internet.
Unlike Musk's SpaceX, which deploys its reusable launchers to carry Starlink satellites, the new European venture will not include space launchers.
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The three firms had recently renewed efforts to combine their satellite operations after earlier talks collapsed over governance and valuation issues. Previous merger attempts in the sector have also faltered amid concerns over competition and national rivalries.
However, the rapid rise of Starlink – which now boasts more than 8,000 satellites in orbit – has put Europe under mounting pressure to consolidate its resources or risk being squeezed out of the market altogether.
Investors welcomed the announcement, with shares in all three companies rising in early trading on Friday.
“The initiative is undoubtedly positive,” said Italian investment bank Equita in a note, “as it creates a European champion able to compete globally and improve the profitability of activities that have struggled in recent years.”
(with newswires)
