ROME/PARIS (Reuters) -A framework agreement between France’s Airbus and Thales and Italy’s Leonardo to create a major new European satellite manufacturer will still require some weeks, a source told Reuters on Monday.
The person familiar with the matter said key details remain under discussion and that the boards of the three companies are working to reach a unified position.
Talks between the aerospace companies encountered a setback after existing partners Thales and Leonardo asked for more time, French daily La Tribune reported.
Leonardo declined to comment. Thales did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
A spokesperson for Airbus said: “Talks with our partners continue and are confidential in nature; it is too early to comment further”.
Airbus and the other two companies, which own Airbus’ main competitor in satellite production, Thales Alenia Space, have been in talks for months to create a new European venture to compete more effectively with rivals from China and the U.S., including Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
The deal aims at combining Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio – two joint ventures between Leonardo and Thales – Airbus Space Systems, Airbus Intelligence and the space activities owned by Leonardo.
La Tribune reported that talks accelerated last week but hit a last-minute obstacle over how workshare would be divided among the three companies.
(Reporting by Giuseppe Fonte in Rome, Tim Hepher in Paris and Giulia Segreti in Rome; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Louise Heavens)
