Posted: Wed, Jul 2, 2003, 10:49 AM ET (1449 GMT)
The Fiat Group announced late Tuesday that it is selling its aerospace unit, FiatAvio, to Italian defense conglomerate Finmeccanica and American equity firm The Carlyle Group. Under the agreement Carlyle will acquire 70 percent of FiatAvio and Finmeccanica the remaining 30 percent; the total purchase price is approximately 1.5 billion euros (US$1.7 billion). Among FiatAvio’s products are the strap-on solid-propellant boosters used on the Ariane 5 booster as well as the Vega small launch vehicle currently under development. Finmeccanica already owns Alenia Spazio, a major European satellite manufacturer that has been the subject of merger rumors with both Astrium and Alcatel.

Related Links:

•  Carlyle Group press release
•  Financial Times article
•  AP article