EADS

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Template:Infobox Company The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS N.V. (EADS) (Template:Euronext, Template:FWB) is a large European aerospace corporation, formed by the merger on July 10, 2000 of Aérospatiale-Matra of France, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace AG (DASA) of Germany, and Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) of Spain.

As of 2004, EADS employs more than 110,000 people at 70 production sites worldwide. Legally incorporated in Dutch capital Amsterdam, the corporation's headquarters are located in Paris, France, and in Ottobrunn near Munich, Germany.

1 Management
2 History and activities
3 EADS divisions
4 Shareholders
5 Criticism
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

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Management

EADS operates with two co-CEO's, one French and one German, currently Tom Enders and Noël Forgeard. Similarly the leadership of the board of directors is shared between two co-chairmen: Arnaud Lagardère and Manfred Bischoff. This system was established with the creation of EADS in 2000.

Forgeard was previously CEO of the aircraft manufacturer Airbus. In late 2004 he was nominated by Lagardère as the next French CEO of EADS. Forgeard had suggested that this system should be abolished in favour of a single CEO in a move that DaimlerChrysler saw as an attempt to engineer a French dominated management team.

Following protracted arguments, which caused embarrassment to EADS at the Paris Air Show, the appointment was confirmed by the EADS Board of Directors on June 25, 2005. At the same meeting the Board, in consultation with partner BAE Systems, named Gustav Humbert as President and CEO of Airbus.

Current members of the board of directors of EADS are: Manfred Bischoff, François David, Juan Manuel Eguiagaray, Thomas Enders, Noël Forgeard, Louis Gallois, Rüdiger Grube, Jean-Paul Gut, Arnaud Lagardère, Hans Peter Ring, Michael Rogowski.

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History and activities

EADS was formed by its member companies in July 2000, to become the world's second largest aerospace company (after Boeing). EADS is also the second-largest European arms manufacturer (after BAE Systems.) The company develops and markets civil and military aircraft, as well as missiles, space rockets, and related systems.

In November 2003, EADS announced that it was considering working with Japanese companies, and the Japanese METI, to develop a hypersonic airliner intended to be a larger, faster, and quieter, replacement for the Concorde, which was retired in October the same year.

EADS is a major contributor to the International Space Station, and is expected to deliver Columbus in 2007 through its subsidiary EADS SPACE Transportation.

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EADS divisions

Image:Typhoon.750pix.jpg Image:A400m airport.jpg

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Airbus Division

Airbus S.A.S. is 80% owned by EADS, with BAE Systems owning the remaining 20% (October 2005). Airbus headquarters are located in Toulouse, France.

In a prospective look at aviation in 2006 The World in 2006, an annual publication by The Economist, predicts that BAE Systems is almost certain to sell its Airbus share in 2006 in order to fund another major U.S. acquisition. EADS has first refusal on the share and is the most likely to purchase it but the magazine states that the two partners discussed a sale in the summer of 2005 and were unable to agree a price. In March 2006 reports in the British press intensified about the possibility of a sale, with BAE's 20% "conservatively valued" at €3.5 billion EUR ($4.17 bn USD).

On April 6 2006 BBC News reported that BAE Systems was selling its share.<ref name="bbc_bae_20060406">"BAE Systems to sell Airbus stake." BBC News. April 6, 2006.</ref> The move was seen by many analysts as a move to make partnerships with U.S. firms more feasible, in both financial and political terms.<ref name="wsj_bae_20060407">"BAE in Talks With EADS to Sell its 20% Airbus Stake; British Firm is Focusing Increasingly on Defense Market, Especially in U.S." Michaels, D. The Wall Street Journal. April 7, 2006.</ref>

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Eurocopter Division

Eurocopter is a manufacturer of light and medium civil and military helicopters. The CEO is Fabrice Brégier and the headquarters are in Marignane, France.

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Military Transport Aircraft Division

EADS produces military transport aircraft, mainly through Airbus' majority ownership of Airbus Military. It is the developer and manufacturer-to-be of the Airbus A400M – competitor to Lockheed Martin's C-130 Hercules. It manufactures the A310 MRTT and A330 MRTT conversions. Included within the 2007 US defense budget the USAF has set aside $8.5 billion to buy new aerial refueling tankers, starting with four per year from 2010- 2013 and rising to 15 a year starting in 2014. Boeing and EADS North America would compete for this program, replacing a single-source tanker program that was slated for Boeing.

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Space Division

The Space division consists of three sub-divisions:

EADS Astrium, a satellite company. BAE Systems' 25% stake in its predessessor, Astrium, was bought out on 30 January 2003. EADS Astrium is based in Toulouse, France, and the CEO is Antoine Bouvier. The number of employees, as of 2004, is 6,092, spread among four countries: France (2445; 40%), UK (2136; 35%), Germany (1279; 21%), and Spain (232; 4%).
EADS SPACE Transportation, responsible for the Ariane launchers and orbital systems such as Columbus. The CEO is Alain Charmeau.
EADS SPACE Services, formed mostly from Paradigm Secure Communications Ltd, a defence satellite operator for the UK MoD (operating the Skynet 5 system)
- 28% shareholder in space transport operator Arianespace (largest commercial shareholder)
- CEO is François Auque.

EADS SPACE has also purchased Dutch Space (former space division of Fokker) in November 2005.

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Defence & Security Systems Division

The Defence & Security Systems division consists of five sub-divisions.

EADS Military Aircraft, including products such as the Mako/HEAT, and stakes in the following companies:
- Dassault Aviation (45.76%), manufacturer of fighters and other military aircraft
- Eurofighter GmbH (46%), manufacturer of Eurofighter Typhoon.
EADS Services
Missiles
- MBDA (37.5%)
- LFK
Defence Electronics, the sensors and avionics house of EADS
Defence and Communications Systems, electronics/software system house

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EADS North America

EADS North America is the U.S. holding company for the North American activities of EADS. It is chaired by Ralph Crosby.

Composites Atlantic Limited

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Other

EADS Socata is a manufacturer of small aircraft.

Dresden Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EADS EFw) convert aircraft into freighter.

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Shareholders

As of 31 December 2004, about one-third of EADS stock is publicly traded on six European stock exchanges and the rest is divided among three major shareholders. [1][2]

Publicly traded: 34.08% (Includes 3.55% held by EADS employees, 0.06% held by French government, and 0.78% held as treasury stock. Traded on Euronext Paris, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and the Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona and Valencia stock exchanges.)
DaimlerChrysler: 30.17%
SOGEADE: 30.17% (15.185% French government, 15.185% Lagardère)
SEPI: 5.51% (Spanish state holding company)

On July 17, 2004 The Economist reported that the three major shareholders, DaimlerChrysler, SOGEADE and SEPI, intend to sell their shares by 2006–2007. DaimlerChrysler would like extra capital to invest in its core activities, Lagardère wants to withdraw from defence aerospace, and the French government is pursuing privatisation where appropriate.

On April 4, 2006, DaimlerChrysler announced its intention to reduce its shareholding from 30% to 22.5%. The company places a value of the stake at "approximately €2.0 billion." [3] Lagardère will reduce its holding by an identical amount. However, Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, a unit of the French government, acquired 2.25% of EADS. At issue as a result is the fact that the German and French shareholdings are now in imbalance.<ref name="iht_20060411">"Airbus plays catch-up with A350 jet." Phillips, D. International Herald Tribune. April 11, 2006.</ref>

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Criticism

Like any large industrial conglomerate which manufactures weaponry, EADS has been subjected to criticism. Alleged wrongdoings include:

The delivery of weapons to non-NATO countries without due consideration for the political situation and the economic consequences and to countries where there exists an on-going arms race.
Using bribes in order to further sales in South Africa.
Engendering the threat of a trade war when specific bids are rejected (e.g. the case of the Republic of Korea's F-15K Strike Eagle competition).

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