Tag: acquisition (Page 5 of 5)

Sikorsky Showcases New Combat Rescue Helicopter

October 11, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

WEst Palm beach, Fla., Oct. 11, 2019 – Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE: LMT), showcased the next generation Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) during a ceremony at its Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, this week.

View the video from the event. View the CRH b-roll.

During the event, United States Air Force General James M. Holmes, Commander, Air Combat Command, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia (91) described the HH-60W helicopter as critical took for the warfighter.

“I want to say thanks to everyone from Sikorsky for your dedication to your craft, for consistently living up to your mission statement of pioneering flight solutions that bring people home everywhere every time. And that partnership is incredibly valuable to us and the guys on the ground,” Gen. Holmes said. “We’re proud to work with you to deliver the most intuitive, precise, technologically advanced systems to our airmen.”

Other dignitaries attending the event included Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) from Florida’s 18^th District.

Prepared for Production

The achievement of the Milestone C production decision on Sept. 24 launched the contract award known as Low Rate Initial Production for Sikorsky to build 10 CRH helicopters.

The U.S. Air Force program of record calls for 113 helicopters to replace the HH-60G PAVE HAWK™, which perform critical combat search and rescue and personnel recovery operations for all U.S. military services.

“The Combat Rescue Helicopter is the new era in Air Force aviation and a pivotal milestone that ties to our company’s legacy of bringing people home,” said Sikorsky President Dan Schultz. “Sikorsky employees and our nationwide supply chain are ready to begin producing, delivering and supporting this all-new aircraft for the warfighter.”

The HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter is significantly more capable and reliable than its predecessor, the HH-60G.The aircraft hosts a new fuel system that nearly doubles the capacity of the internal tank on a UH-60M BLACK HAWK®, giving the Air Force crew extended range and more capability to rescue those injured in the battle space. The HH-60W specification drives more capable defensive systems, vulnerability reduction, hover performance, electrical capacity, avionics, cooling, weapons, cyber-security, environmental and net-centric requirements than currently held by the HH-60G.

“We send in brave men and women who are going to find a way to get the job done,” Dr. Roper said. “But they’ll tell you about flying in and not being certain that they could land safely or putting the broad side of their vehicle between a downed pilot and gunfire. When you hear those stories, you realize that we put heroes on these vehicles. We pick up heroes in these vehicles and they deserve every technology advantage we can give them.”

Training Systems

On Sept. 19, four pilots and four special mission aviators from the U.S. Air Force graduated from the Sikorsky Training Academy’s S-70i Transition Course. As previously qualified HH-60G Pave Hawk crews, the students learned about the unique systems and operating capabilities of the Sikorsky S-70i. During the four-week course, they each spent seven hours using a procedural trainer, 10 hours in a full-motion flight simulator and 10 hours of flight time in the S-70i aircraft.

To ensure mission readiness, Lockheed Martin will deliver a custom-tailored training system consisting of flight simulators, procedural and maintenance trainers and accompanying courseware.

In 2020, Lockheed Martin will train 200 U.S. Air Force and maintenance aircrew students at our Sikorsky Training Academy in Stuart, Fla. utilizing training systems and three newly built HH-60W aircraft. This will provide flight and maintenance training to initial cadre and units allowing the U.S. Air Force to remain vigilant while simultaneously fielding and employing the added capabilities of the HH-60W aircraft.

*The Sikorsky HH-60W helicopter at the Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. Photo courtesy Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company.*

Alstom to supply 42 Metropolis trains for Barcelona Metro

October 9, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(from left to right): Sergio Boya, Alstom Spain, Miguel Angel Martin, Director, BCN trains Manufacturing Site, Maria Rosa Alarcón Montañés, Chair TMB, Gerardo Lertxundi Albéniz, Chief Executive Officer TMB

A contract worth over €260 million in Spain

7 October 2019 – Alstom has signed a contract with Barcelona Metro operator TMB (Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona) to supply 42 Metropolis trains to replace those currently running on lines 1 and 3 of the network. The contract[1], valued at over €260 million, includes the design, manufacturing and commissioning of the trains. The five-car trains will be manufactured in Alstom’s Barcelona site and delivered to TMB within two and a half years.

“Alstom is honoured by this sign of confidence from TMB. The expertise and innovation capabilities of our teams are fully mobilised to support the plan to modernise Barcelona Metro for the benefit of passengers. Carrying over 400 million passengers per year, the Barcelona network is one of the most efficient and modern in Europe. With our trains, we aim to help TMB in the development of efficient and sustainable mobility that responds to the current and future needs of all passengers,” said Gian Luca Erbacci, Senior Vice President of Alstom in Europe.

“With the withdrawal of the oldest fleet, we accelerate a process of renovation that will increase service reliability, sustainability and passenger comfort in two of our most frequented Metro lines, in a context of maximum demand for the collective transport of Barcelona, upon the entry into force of the low-emission zone. This is the most important rolling stock acquisition in the history of TMB,” said Rosa Alarcón, President of TMB, during the signature of the contract.

According to the specifications, the new Metropolis trains will meet strict sustainability criteria; light structure, low energy consumption, high levels of recoverability and recyclability, technical reliability and ease of maintenance. The trains will also be equipped with remote sensors for optimal maintenance.

Alstom also puts the passenger at the heart of its design process. The trains for Barcelona will be built with the comfort of passengers in mind, offering accessibility, wide doors and spaces to facilitate passenger flow, acoustic comfort, vibration mitigation and passenger information in real time. Both external an internal design features will remain faithful to the TMB brand but will also add new visual elements that reflect the identity of Barcelona, such as graphics on the doors that represent Barcelona’s urban landscape.

The new trains for Barcelona will benefit from the experience and reliability of Alstom’s Metropolis range, currently in circulation on lines 9 and 10 of the Barcelona Metro, incorporating innovative technological solutions and meeting TMB’s requirements in terms of reliability, availability, safety and comfort. Alstom has more than 65 years’ experience in the production of metros, having sold over 17,000 metro cars operating in 55 cities worldwide and carrying 30 million passengers every day.

[1] Booked in Q2 of current fiscal year

Italian Government Asks Delta To Do The Right Thing

September 28, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

The Italian government is begging U.S. major Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE: DAL) to up the proposed acquisition of a 10% stake in Alitalia for $100 million to at least 15%, according to a report in Italian media.

Loss-making Alitalia has been seeking new investors for more than two years after going into administration in May 2017 after workers rejected a plan to cut jobs and salaries. Successive Italian governments have had to balance the carrier’s massive losses with the need to placate a heavily unionized workforce.

Click the link for the full story! https://finance.yahoo.com/news/italian-government-asks-delta-thing-205301072.html

Dassault Aviation Acquires RUAG Maintenance and FBO Ops

July 2, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Saint-Cloud, France, July 2nd 2019 – Dassault Aviation and RUAG announced the acquisition by Dassault Aviation of the maintenance and FBO activities of RUAG in Geneva and Lugano.

“The acquisition of the business aviation activities of RUAG is part of our strategy to develop a worldwide MRO network of excellence and will allow Dassault Aviation to reinforce its footprint in Switzerland. RUAG has been a long-time partner of Dassault Aviation as an authorized Falcon service center. This acquisition will consolidate our network in Geneva and Lugano. Both Geneva and Lugano FBO activities will complement the full range of services offered by Dassault Aviation in Switzerland”, declared Eric Trappier, Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation.

“We are extremely satisfied that we have completed this transaction with Dassault Aviation, a leader in manufacturing and maintaining aircraft”, said Urs Breitmeier, CEO of the RUAG Group. “They are an experienced partner of RUAG and can provide a strong foundation for successfully continuing operations in Geneva and Lugano, as well as for the future of the members of our staff at both sites”.

Elbit Eyes Acquisition Opportunities from Raytheon-UTC Deal

June 19, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

PARIS, June 19 (Reuters) – Israel-based Elbit Systems on Wednesday said it would keep an eye out for possible acquisitions if the proposed merger of U.S. aerospace companies Raytheon Co and United Technologies Corp triggers certain divestments.

“We could have several opportunities coming from that kind of merger,” Ran Kril, executive vice president for International Marketing & Business Development, told Reuters at the Paris Airshow.

Kril said Elbit was committed to expanding in the United States, and would keep a close eye on any possible divestments ordered by U.S. authorities reviewing the proposed merger.

He said Elbit expected to wrap up the purchase of the night vision business of Harris Corp in the autumn. Antitrust authorities had ordered the sale of that business as a condition for approving Harris’s merger with L3 Technologies.

“We’ve decided to grow in America and after the Harris acquisition, we will always find opportunities to expand our portfolio and our presence in the U.S.,” Kril said.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal, editing by Deepa Babington)

Virgin Atlantic Posts Annual Loss for Second Year Running

April 10, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Virgin Atlantic on Wednesday reported an annual pretax loss for the second consecutive year, hit by a shaky economy, the higher costs of fuel generated by a weaker British pound and problems with Rolls Royce’s Trent engines.

The airline, the 1980s brainchild of British billionaire Richard Branson, fell back into the red in 2017 after three years of profits, as competition intensified and the weakening of the pound added to already rising fuel costs.

Best known in Europe for the trans-Atlantic planes it flies with Air France-KLM and Delta, Virgin said its loss before tax and exceptional items was 26.1 million pounds ($34.12 million) for the year ended Dec. 31, compared to a loss of 49 million pounds in 2017.

Total revenue rose 5.8 percent to 2.78 billion pounds, as passenger numbers grew just under 5 percent to 5.4 million and revenue per customer rose 1.7 percent.

The company said performance had suffered from economic uncertainty and the weaker pound – which increases costs because fuel is priced in dollars – as well as the well-documented problems of the Trent 1000 engines used on its Boeing 787 jets.

“While a loss is disappointing, our performance has improved in 2018 despite challenging economic conditions and put us on a trajectory for growth and return to profitability,” Chief Executive Officer Shai Weiss said in a statement.

Rolls-Royce on Wednesday agreed to an early inspection of some Trent 1000 TEN engines by regulatory authorities, a week after Singapore Airlines grounded two Boeing 787-10 jets fitted with the units.

British Airways owner IAG in February chose Boeing 777-9s, rather than a competing package from Airbus in part powered by Rolls, underlining the risks to airlines from the engine issues.

Since then the industry has been thrown into chaos by the grounding of Boeing’s new 737 MAX planes after a second fatal crash within six months.

The pound fell 5.6 percent against the U.S. dollar, in 2018 as Britain contended with the political and economic uncertainty generated by its negotiations on leaving the European Union.

Finance chief Tom Mackay said that while economic factors would continue to challenge the carrier in the year ahead, Virgin Atlantic was in a strong cash position.

The results are the company’s first since its acquisition of troubled regional airline Flybe for $2.8 million earlier this year, in a joint bid with Stobart Group and Cyrus Capital.

($1 = 0.7649 pounds)

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain and Pushkala Aripaka in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)

Wynn Ends Acquisition Talks with Australia’s Crown Resorts

April 9, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO – The logo of Australian casino giant Crown Resorts Ltd adorns the hotel and casino complex in Melbourne, Australia, June 13, 2017. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Picture

(Reuters) – Wynn Resorts Ltd, the world’s No. 2 casino operator, said on Tuesday it scrapped preliminary talks to acquire Crown Resorts Ltd for A$10 billion ($7.1 billion), after the Australian Financial Review broke news of the negotiations.

Wynn’s backtracking illustrates how media leaks of deal talks can test the resolve of potential acquirers. Crown shares jumped as much as 22 percent on the news to A$14.37, close to the $A14.75 per share level that Crown said Wynn’s latest cash-and-stock offer valued the company.

This can make deal negotiations more difficult by emboldening acquisition targets to drive a hard bargain, analysts said. In this case, Wynn’s inexperience with pursuing big deals also likely played a factor, some analysts added.

“(Wynn) management’s experience with acquisitions is limited, so when you target synergies it’ll be nice to have more of a track record for such a large transaction,” said Roth Capital Partners analyst David Bain, calling the termination of the deal talks a positive development for Wynn.

After the Australian Financial Review revealed Wynn’s takeover approach, Crown not only confirmed the confidential talks on Tuesday, but also disclosed the price that Wynn was offering. It added that Crown’s board had not yet considered Wynn’s latest offer.

Wynn then issued two statements, first confirming the talks, and, a few hours later, stating that they had ended.

“Following the premature disclosure of preliminary discussions, Wynn Resorts has terminated all discussions with Crown Resorts concerning any transaction,” the company said in a statement.

Wynn’s shares were down 3.2 percent at $140.21 in New York at mid-afternoon.

Examples of companies confirming acquisition talks only to back out hours later are few and far between, because they reflect a lack of conviction on the part of the aspiring acquirers.

Last year, drug maker Allergan Plc confirmed it was in the early stages of making an offer for peer Shire Plc, after Reuters broke news of the deliberations, only to issue a second statement a few hours later stating it would not make an offer.

Insurer Aon Plc said last month it would not pursue a merger with rival insurance brokerage Willis Towers Watson Plc, a day after it confirmed it was in early stages of considering an all-stock offer for the Irish company following a Bloomberg News report revealing the deliberations.

HEDGE AGAINST MACAU

Wynn was founded in 2002 by Steve Wynn, who started his casino business in Las Vegas in the 1960s and created some of the city’s most iconic landmarks – the Mirage, Bellagio and Treasure Island – before selling them. Beset by sexual misconduct allegations, Wynn left the company and sold his entire 11.8 percent stake in Wynn Resorts for $2.1 billion last month.

Wynn operates large resort-and-casino complexes in Las Vegas and Chinese gambling hub Macau, with another under construction in Massachusetts. The deal would have offered a hedge against Macau, where its licences are up for renewal, by giving it two lavishly revamped Australian casinos and a third being built on the prized Sydney harbour front.

Buying Crown would also fit in with Wynn’s strategy to diversify geographically to protect its growth prospects if its Macau licences are not renewed.

The company’s efforts so far have included ramping up promotion of a resort in Japan, a market seen as the next potential goldmine to Macau and a former expansion target for Crown.

“Wynn has typically grown through building their own facilities, not through acquisition,” said Bain, the Roth Capital Partners analyst.

For Crown’s 47 percent owner James Packer, who re-badged his father’s media empire as a gambling concern in 2007 only to withdraw from business engagements last year due to mental illness, the deal would have ended his career as a casino mogul with a A$4.7 billion payout.

He would have ended up as Wynn’s biggest shareholder with 9.8 percent of its shares, based on its current number of shares on issue.

“We think Wynn’s strategy was mostly defensive, but if they have a strong strategic rationale for wanting to acquire Crown, they would likely come back to the table when things settle down,” said John DeCree, Union Gaming Securities’ director of North America research.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye, Tom Westbrook and Paulina Duran in SYDNEY, Devika Syamnath and Nivedita Balu in BENGALURU, and Greg Roumeliotis in NEW YORK; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Shounak Dasgupta and Richard Chang)

(Nattee Chalermtiragool/Shutterstock) stock-Wynn-Macau-01-shutter Macao, China – March 12, 2016: View of Macao city at night in Macao, China

Cathay Pacific in Talks to Buy Stake in HK Express Airways

March 5, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Hong Kong flagship carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd said on Tuesday it is in “active discussions” about an acquisition involving budget airline Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd, although an agreement has yet to be reached.

Such a deal would give Cathay exposure to the growing budget-travel market at a time when a lack of slots at Hong Kong International Airport has constrained its ability to follow peers like Singapore Airlines Ltd and Qantas Airways Ltd and set up its own budget brand.

The Hong Kong carrier has instead shifted some destinations from its main brand to its regional carrier, Cathay Dragon, as part of a transformation plan designed to cut costs and increase revenue. It has ordered 32 Airbus SE A321neos for Cathay Dragon.

Cathay said it had decided to go public about the discussions in response to media reports suggesting it may be in talks to acquire shares in Hong Kong Express Airways Ltd and full-service sister carrier Hong Kong Airlines Ltd from cash-strapped Chinese conglomerate HNA Group Co Ltd.

It did not detail the potential value of the transaction, nor the size of the stake it would hold. It said it would issue an additional statement when appropriate.

An analyst last year estimated to Reuters that HK Express could be worth about $300 million.

HNA and HK Express did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A person with knowledge of the matter said the companies appeared close to reaching an agreement and noted Cathay’s parent Swire Pacific Ltd had historically taken majority stakes when making investments.

Cathay is not interested in Hong Kong Airlines because it has both similar routes and full-service positioning, the person said.

A second person with knowledge of the matter said Cathay had signed an exclusivity period for discussion but other parties remained interested in HK Express if a deal could not be reached.

Both sources spoke on the condition of anonymity as discussions are confidential.

ANTITRUST

Given Cathay’s dominance of Hong Kong’s aviation market, a deal could attract scrutiny from the competition regulator.

Some analysts have also expressed doubts about the likely benefits of any deal. Daiwa analyst Kelvin Lau said he did not see much value from the acquisition as the two airlines flew similar routes, but also because Cathay would need to undertake significant reform to add a budget wing.

Jefferies analyst Andrew Lee however said in a note to clients it would be “positive for Cathay Pacific” as it would give the airline greater access to a different passenger segment in the low-cost market.

FLYING HIGH

News of Cathay’s interest in HK Express comes just weeks after Hong Kong’s flagship carrier projected its annual profit at more than double analyst estimates, sending its shares surging nearly 9 percent.

Shares of Cathay have risen more than 19 percent so far this year, compared with an 8 percent fall in 2018. The airline’s shares jumped more than 3 percent on Tuesday morning.

Cathay has faced repeated questions from investors over the last few years about its failure to set up a budget carrier.

Chief Executive Rupert Hogg has said it would be difficult to do so until a third runway was completed at Hong Kong International Airport in 2024, opening up more slots.

“Our home-based airport is full at the moment, or largely full, and so it’s not a perfect place to develop a model from scratch,” he told CAPA Centre for Aviation last May.

HK Express operates a fleet of 25 A320 family aircraft to regional destinations around Asia, according to plane tracking website FlightRadar24.

Embattled HNA Group is more than a year into the process of unwinding a $50 billion acquisition spree that at its peak netted the company stakes in banks, fund managers, hotels, property and airlines, among other assets.

(Reporting by Donny Kwok in Hong Kong and Jamie Freed in Singapore; Additional reporting by Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Stephen Coates)

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