Airbus Concludes Sale of Defense Electronics Business
American buyout specialist KKR paid €1.1 billion for the mostly Germany-based company, now renamed Hensoldt.
One of Hensoldt’s main product lines is ground-based air defense, ground surveillance, air traffic control, and secondary radar. This is the ASR-NG4 radar. (Photo: Airbus D&S)
One of Hensoldt’s main product lines is ground-based air defense, ground surveillance, air traffic control, and secondary radar. This is the ASR-NG4 radar. (Photo: Airbus D&S)

Airbus has offloaded most of its Electronics and Border Security (EBS) business, two-and-a-half years after seeking a buyer. American investment specialist KKR paid approximately €1.1 billion for the business, which has a turnover of some €1 billion; employs 4,000 people who provide defense sensors, systems and services; and is mainly based in Germany. It will be renamed Hensoldt, after the nineteenth-century German pioneer of optics.