General Electric acquires the aeronautical division of Avio for 3,3 billion euros from the private equity fund Cinven and from Finmeccanica. The operation will now have to be examined by regulatory bodies and public administrations. The American giant, on the other hand, does not forfeit the Italian company's space division. The announcement was made today in Milan by David Joyce, president and CEO of General Electric Aviation, and by Nani Beccalli, president and CEO of General Electric Europe.
"For the space division, whose shareholding will not change in the short term, a new phase is opening in which, under the leadership of Cinven and Finmeccanica, a framework of industrial alliances will be defined in line with Italian and European interests in this strategic sector". explained Francescco Caio, managing director of the Turin group.
Founded in 1908 in Turin, Avio operates on four continents employing 5.300 people, 4.500 of whom in Italy and around 800 in the space division. In 2011, the company's revenues from the aeronautics sector alone reached 1,7 billion euros, of which about half were generated by the sale of components to GE and its joint ventures. The purchase price paid by GE for the aviation division of avio represents a multiple equal to 8,5 times the expected Ebitda for the fiscal year 2012.
