DASA/CASA Merger A First For European Aerospace Sector

Europe has at last taken a major step toward consolidating its aerospace industry with the creation of the sector's first transnational company. Germany's DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA) is joining forces with Spain's Construcciones Aeronauticas SA (CASA). The combined company will be the largest shareholder in the Airbus Industrie consortium, a group that also includes France's Aérospatiale/Matra and the UK's British Aerospace/Marconi. The merging companies will have projected annual revenue of US$11.55 billion and a 53,000-person workforce. And its 42% stake in Airbus will be larger than the shares of its French and British partners. The merger is being seen as revenge for DASA, which was furious when British Aerospace chose British Marconi as a merger partner a few months ago and spurned DASA. Market analysts expect more mergers in the European aerospace industry as companies try to compete with Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp., and Raytheon Co., a trio of U.S.-based firms.