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Steffen Leuthold
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Monday, 28 July 2008 |
ELTA S.A. (Toulouse), a joint company of AREVA and OHB Technology (ISIN: DE0005936124, Prime Standard), acquired completely SMP S.A. (Systèmes Midi Pyrénées) in Toulouse (France) from its current directors (71%) and its former chief executive (29%).
SMP, located in Toulouse, has been designing and manufacturing electronic equipment and components aimed at space satellite communication, with particular emphasis on the satellite ground stations segment for over 30 years. The company is involved in the main French and European space programmes. Within the SAR-Lupe project, SMP has delivered radio frequency equipment for the ground station to OHB. SMP is also expanding its export activities to clients in more than 15 countries outside Europe.
With this acquisition ELTA strengthens its offer in radio frequency-based solutions and targets to enhance its presence in the field of wireless communications used in harsh environment.
Direct and mid-term benefits for the OHB Group from the SMP acquisition:
* OHB Group will benefit from SMP’s expertise in radio frequency products and solutions.
* SMP’s technology will enable the OHB Group and ELTA to develop new markets and permeate new industrial sectors.
* SMP’s creation of long-lasting commercial/industrial links with the two main countries with space ambitions (India and China) offers additional opportunities for the OHB Group.
SMP realised total revenues of EUR 8.5 million and achieved an operating profit of EUR 1.0 million in 2007. The company has no financial debts. The company allocates more than 15% of annual revenues to research and development and employs 47 staff, more than 60% of whom are engineers and senior technicians.
The acquisition is completely financed from ELTA’s own resources.
ELTA S.A. is a subsidiary of both OHB Technology (34%) and AREVA (66%). With a staff of 65,000, AREVA is world leader in energy technologies. ELTA realised total revenues of EUR 27.8 million and an operating profit of EUR 1.5 million in 2007. The company designs, manufactures and provides support for sophisticated and highly reliable electrical and electronic devices and systems for harsh environmental conditions in the aerospace, defence and energy sectors. |
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