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Three prominent EU-based aerospace firms—Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales Group—have now finalized a major agreement to merge their space-related operations. The partnership seeks to form a single European tech company capable of rivaling with Elon Musk's SpaceX.

Economic Aspects and Stake Structure

This resulting company is expected to achieve annual sales of approximately €6.5bn (£5.6bn). Under the arrangement, the French aerospace giant Airbus will hold a thirty-five percent stake in the new business. Meanwhile, both Leonardo and Thales will each retain 32.5% shares.

Scale and Goals of the New Company

The unnamed merger constitutes one of the largest consolidations of its kind across Europe. It will bring together various expertise in satellite manufacturing, space systems, components, and services from top defense and aerospace manufacturers.

Guillaume Faury, Roberto Cingolani, and Thales's CEO collectively declared, “The joint company represents a crucial milestone for the European space sector.” The executives added, “Through combining our talent, resources, knowledge, and R&D strengths, we aim to drive expansion, speed up progress, and deliver greater benefits to our clients and stakeholders.”

Business Information and Schedule

This new company will be headquartered in Toulouse, France and have a workforce of approximately 25,000 employees. It is planned to become fully functional in 2027, pending regulatory approvals. According to the companies, it is expected to generate “hundreds of” millions of euros in synergies on annual profit per year, starting after a five-year period.

Background and Reasons

Sources indicate that talks between Airbus, Leonardo, and Thales began the previous year. The move aims to replicate the model of MBDA, which is owned by Airbus, Leonardo, and BAE Systems.

Although substantial job cuts in their space units in the past few years, the firms stated that there would be zero immediate facility shutdowns or job losses. Nonetheless, they confirmed that labor representatives would be engaged during the process.

Past Struggles in Space Business

These firms have faced setbacks in their space operations in recent times. The previous year, Airbus incurred 1.3 billion euros in losses from underperforming space projects and revealed 2,000 job cuts in its defence and space division. Similarly, Thales Alenia Space, which is a partnership between Thales and Leonardo, eliminated more than 1,000 positions last year.

Worldwide Competitive Environment

Meanwhile, the SpaceX, established in 2002, has expanded to emerge as one of the largest private companies worldwide, with a valuation of {$400 billion dollars. SpaceX dominates both the space launch and satellite-based internet sectors. Its main competitors include other US firms such as United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, and Blue Origin, founded by technology tycoon Jeff Bezos.

Earlier this month, SpaceX launched its eleventh Starship from Texas, USA, touching down in the Indian Ocean. In August, US President Donald Trump approved an presidential directive to simplify space launches, easing rules for commercial space operators.