AIRBUS SAFRAN LAUNCHERS BECOMES A 74% SHAREHOLDER IN ARIANESPACE

Following the completion of all the necessary regulatory, consultation and approval procedures, Airbus Safran Launchers has now purchased the shares in Arianespace held by the French space agency CNES (Centre national des études spatiales). The transaction will close on 31st December 2016.

As industrial lead contractor for Ariane 5 and the future Ariane 6, Airbus Safran Launchers was already the leading Arianespace shareholder, with a stake of about 39%, which has been increased by this operation to 74%.

As a subsidiary of Airbus Safran Launchers, Arianespace will remain a company in its own right, with headquarters in Evry, a facility in French Guiana and offices in Washington, Tokyo and Singapore.

The buyout of the Arianespace shares held by CNES (about 35%) is an integral part of the ambitious triple initiative announced by the Airbus and Safran groups in June 2014:

• The creation of a joint subsidiary, Airbus Safran Launchers, grouping their civil and military space launcher skills and assets
• The development of the new Ariane 6 launch system, which is more competitive and adaptable to market needs
• The implementation of a new form of governance for European launcher programmes, in which industry takes on greater responsibility, up to and including commercial operations

The new Arianespace shareholder mix is part of the response to the request from the ESA Member States for implementation of the new European launchers governance arrangements further to the decisions taken at the ESA Ministerial Conference at the end of 2014.