Germany's OHB to consider legal action if EU clears Airbus, Thales, Leonardo satellite merger

By Gianluca Lo Nostro

May 7 (Reuters) - German outer shaper OHB volition see ineligible enactment if EU antitrust regulators o.k. a planned merger ‌of the outer businesses of Airbus, Thales and Leonardo, its CEO ‌said connected Thursday.

The 3 aerospace and defence groups announced plans successful October to harvester their outer ​manufacturing activities into a standalone company, code-named "Project Bromo".

The companies accidental the task would make a stronger European player, capable to vie with Elon Musk's SpaceX and Chinese rivals.

But OHB, 1 of Europe's fewer autarkic outer makers, fears the woody could weaken contention ‌in Europe.

"We are raising ⁠concerns due to the fact that it impacts our proviso chain," OHB main Marco Fuchs told Reuters, describing the merger arsenic "rather a disturbance of the ⁠market".

Asked whether OHB would see a ineligible situation if the European Commission cleared the deal, Fuchs said: "Yes."

The halfway contented for regulators is apt to beryllium whether the ​new institution ​would chiefly usage its standard to ​compete globally, arsenic its backers argue, ‌or whether it would reenforce their presumption successful Europe.

Fuchs dismissed comparisons with Chinese competitors, saying Europe does not bargain satellites from China.

OHB's marketplace worth has risen astir fivefold implicit the past year, to astir 5 cardinal euros. On Thursday, it reported an 18% emergence successful quarterly revenue, with bid backlog up ‌45%.

The institution is considering financing options, Fuchs said, ​after abandoning a erstwhile program to instrumentality OHB ​private alongside number capitalist KKR, ​as geopolitical changes person altered capitalist views of abstraction companies.

Bloomberg ‌News reported successful March that the ​Fuchs family, which owns ​around 65% of OHB, and KKR, which owns astir 29%, were discussing a merchantability of shares equivalent to 20% of the company. Fuchs ​declined to remark connected ‌the report.

"I'm not going to merchantability thing successful a secondary (share sale)," Fuchs ​said, without disclosing however overmuch OHB aimed to raise.

(Reporting by ​Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Matt Scuffham)