24 Sep 14. Dassault Aviation S.A. shareholders approved a plan that would allow the company to buy back as much as 10% of its stock. The move comes after Airbus Group EADS said it was considering selling its 46% nonvoting stake it inherited when the company was created by pooling some French and German aerospace and defense assets more than a decade ago. The French government has preferred purchase rights on the shares. The shareholder vote gives Dassault the right in principal to buy some of the shares. The approval came at the company’s annual general meeting in Paris. Dassault makes Falcon business jets as well as the French combat jets used in airstrikes against Islamic insurgents in Iraq. Airbus is considering the stake sale as it shifts strategy to more focus on growth in its large commercial jet unit, helicopters and a narrower field of military activities. Airbus said this month it would seek to shed some defense and security activities. Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said the planned disposals “are the logical follow-up to our group strategy review in 2013” after the company’s merger plans with BAE Systems BA.LN IN Your Value Your Change Short position PLC failed the year prior. After that review, Airbus consolidated separate space and defense units. Closely held Dassault Aviation, which competes for business jet orders with companies such as General Dynamics Corp. Gulfstream unit and Canada’s Bombardier Inc.(Source: Defense News Early Bird/WSJ)
25 Sep 14. Italy’s defense group Finmeccanica (SIFI.MI) said on Thursday its board had decided to proceed with a request for binding offers for its loss-making train unit Ansaldo Breda after examining the bids so far received. In a statement, the company – which opened the data room of AnsaldoBreda to potential bidders in June – said Mediobanca and UBS are advising it on the sale. The state-controlled aerospace and defense group put Ansaldo Breda and other assets up for sale more than 2 years ago to cut its heavy debt burden but political meddling and a corruption scandal delayed the process. Earlier this month, the company said it had received four non-binding offers for both Ansaldo Breda and profitable rail signalling company Ansaldo STS. These came from Spain’s CAF, a consortium comprising China CNR Corporation (601299.SS) and Insigma, Hitachi and Thales. Finmeccanica has formally put up for sale only AnsaldoBreda but has signalled it wants to exit the transport business, which would mean also selling Ansaldo STS. (Source: Reuters)
30 Sep 14. Israel MoD Amasses $800m Debt to Industry. Israel’s MoD owes local industry more than US $800mi for work on Iron Dome, unmanned vehicles and other high-priority systems performed essentially on credit over the past 18 months. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon estimated MoD debt accrued since the beginning of last year at 3bn shekels (US $810m)
In a Sept. 30 address at the Institute for National Security Studies, Ya’alon said MoD’s debt applied to Israel’s top three defense firms: Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Rafael. But he singled out Rafael, Iron Dome prime contractor, for special mention, noting that the state-owned firm has been building anti-rocket interceptors on credit over an extended period. “In the past year and a half, Rafael has produced Iron Dome on credit,” Ya’alon said. An MoD spokeswoman declined to amplify on Ya’alon’s public remarks, made in the context of ongoing debate about Israeli defense spending. She noted, however, that most Iron Dome production funding is coming from Washington. Since 2011, the US has committed to nearly $1bn in Iron Dome funding in addition to the $3.1bn it provides in annual security assistance grant aid to Israel. At the request of Congress, the Pentagon had been holding a large portion of that amount, at least $429m, in abeyance pending a bilateral agreement for US-based production of Iron Dome components. On March 10, the US Embassy in Tel Aviv announced tha