http://www.defpro.com/daily/details/383/
A Strategic Move in Poland
09:39 GMT, August 21, 2009 defpro.com | The Anglo-Italian helicopter company AgustaWestland announced on Wednesday to have purchased 87.61 per cent of the Polish PZL Swidnik firm, a license helicopter manufacturer and producer of aerostructure elements for customers such as Aerospatiale, Eurocopter, Agusta, Latecoere, Dassault, Ratier-Figeac, Snecma, and Boeing. With the purchase of these shares worth €79 million ($113 million) AgustaWestland, a subsidiary of Italy-based Finmeccanica, now holds a total of 93.81 per cent of the Polish company.
Giuseppe Orsi, CEO of AgustaWestland explained: “With the acquisition of PZL Swidnik, it will be possible to rationalise and optimise the work processes and organisation of all activities undertaken up to now outside Italy, improving the manufacturing processes with targeted investment. This deal will therefore provide a platform for further growth in important international markets.”
AgustWestland selected over Czech AERO Vodochody
The Italian buyout comes days after Poland’s Industrial Development Agency (ARP) refused Czech AERO Vodochody’s proposal for a possible purchase of its Polish rival. Reportedly, the Czech company has been a favourite in the negotiations, which now have lasted for about a year, as it submitted a better price offer and provided better guarantees for the future development of PZL Swidnik. As defpro.com reported in February, that AERO Vodochody remained the only company to continue to the next stage of the negotiations on the privatization of the Polish aerospace producer. However, AgustaWestland joined the race and ARP invited both companies to improve their bids. This resulted in AgustaWestland’s offer being selected as the more appropriate bid earlier this week.
Wojciech D?browski, president of ARP said: “This is a huge success for both the Industrial Development Agency (ARP), as well as the investor. We managed to negotiate excellent terms for the sale of the controlling stake in PZL Swidnik.”
The coup is a strategic move for the Italian company, opening new markets while contemporarily blocking further advancements of US companies in Eastern Europe. The US company Sikorsky Aircraft, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corporation (UTC), already owns 100% of the Polish company, PZL Mielec. In March 2009, PZL Mielec rolled out the first Black Hawk UH60M cabin produced outside the United States.
PZL Swidnik now part of a global player in the helicopter market
Besides having been a supplier for AgustaWestland solutions, PZL Swidnik is also a registered supplier to US companies Boeing and Bell. The Polish company, which has been founded in 1951, has some 3,900 employees and reported a turnover of €120 million ($171 million) in 2008.
When AgustaWestland started to acquire shares of PZL Swidnik back in early 2008, the Polish company could log a major order of from China, which decided to by 150 helicopters of three different types within a 10-year agreement signed with China’s Jiujiang aeronautics plant. China had reportedly ordered helicopters of the PZL Sokol, PZL Kania and SW-4 types to be delivered according to yearly specified numbers. A standard version PZL Sokol helicopter costs $4.0 million (€2.79 million), while a SW-4 costs less than a million dollars. Final assembly of the PZL Sokol was expected to be carried out in China.
The cooperation between AgustaWestland and PZL Swidnik began in 1996 with the then Agusta, when it signed a contract for the production of the fuselage for the A109 POWER. In 2001 this contract was extended to the production of AW119 Koala. After Agusta merged to AgustaWestland the cooperation was extended to the production and development of the fuselage and other components for the AW139. Over the years the co-operation has grown with fuselage production of five AgustaWestland helicopter types in PZL Swidnik: AW109 Power, AW109 LUH, AW119 Ke, AW139 and Grand.
The buyout is now pending antitrust approval and it’s expected to be completed before the end of the year.
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August 21, 2009 at 11:15 am