Airbus to acquire Satair and Metron Aviation

Airbus has signed agreements to acquire Satiar – a Denmark-based aviation aftermarket distributor, and Metron Aviation – a US-based provider of advanced Air Traffic Management products and services.

The acquisition of Satair will significantly enhance Airbus‘ services offering in aircraft material management, while the Metron Aviation acquisition supports Airbus‘ strategy to improve global Air Traffic Management

Airbus has signed an agreement with Satair’s board of directors for the launch of a voluntary conditional tender offer with a cash price of DKK 580 per share of a nominal value of DKK 20. This transaction represents a total consideration of DKK 2.595 billion (US$504 million) and will be financed through EADS existing cash balances.

Under the agreement with Satair, Airbus has been granted the right to match any competing higher offer for Satair in the event any such proposal is announced.

Satair has undertaken to recommend the offer to its shareholders subject to and upon publication of the offer document. Satair’s shareholders representing approximately 16% of Satair’s shares have committed to accept the offer under certain conditions.

Through its worldwide supply chain network and its regional sales offices, Satair provides aviation parts and services to customers around the world, supporting all major aircraft families in the commercial aviation market, generating revenues of around US$402 million and EBITDA of around US$36 million in the fiscal year ended June 30th, 2011, equally distributed in the US, Asia and Europe.

Completion of the acquisition will enable Airbus to capitalise on its own commercial network together with Satair’s offering and distribution capabilities in order to position itself as a leading global service and support provider for airlines and maintenance, repair and overhaul providers (MROs).

Satair will continue to develop its brand name as a standalone company within Airbus.

The offer document and the offer advertisement will be published once approved by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority. The voluntary tender offer will be subject to customary conditions for a public voluntary offer in Denmark, including acceptance threshold of more than 90% of all shares and warrants convertible into shares and necessary merger control and other regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed during the fall 2011.

Airbus has also entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Metron Aviation, a US-based provider of advanced Air Traffic Management (ATM) products and services for the global aviation industry.

This acquisition strengthens Airbus‘ strategy to accelerate and support ATM programs that will dramatically improve global air transportation capacity, efficiency and environmental sustainability.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals, and the acquisition is expected to be completed later this year. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Earlier this year, Airbus launched subsidiary Airbus ProSky, dedicated to supporting the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen), Europe’s Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) and other global ATM modernisation programs.

Metron Aviation provides advanced research, Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM), airspace design, energy and environmental solutions to Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), airlines and airports. Metron is a prime contractor on System Engineering 2020 (SE-2020) – the FAA’s strategic program for implementing NextGen and is performing advanced research and development work on SESAR. Metron also provides commercial ATFM solutions that optimise airspace and airport capacity for customers around the world, including Airservices Australia, ATNS (South Africa), Delta Air Lines and FedEx.