Turmoil in stock markets and the prospect of another public debt and banking crisis have done nothing to deter EADS in its expansion and diversification plans. The European aerospace and defense group has a war chest of €11 billion ($15.6 billion) for acquisitions, with CFO Hans-Peter Ring confirming on August 10 that the company expects to press ahead with more deals during the second half of 2011.
Ring told the Jefferies Global Industrial and Aerospace and Defense conference in New York that EADS will likely push for some larger acquisitions targets. Signaling a clear intention to dilute its dependence on aircraft manufacturing as an income stream, EADS’s–through its Airbus subsidiary–most recently agreed to acquire U.S. air traffic management software specialist Metron Aviation. Airbus has also made an offer to buy Danish spare parts firm Satair. Meanwhile, EADS, which recently acquired Canada-based helicopter support group Vector Aerospace, now has agreed to buy satellite communications firm Vizada to form part of its Astrium space business.
