Safran [SAF] said it has finalized the acquisition from Rolls-Royce of its 50 percent share in their joint RTM322 helicopter engine program with a cash consideration of approximately $381.9 million.
The engine powers the Boeing [BA] AH-64 Apache, Finmeccanica’s EH 101, produced by AgustaWestland, and the NH Industries NH90, jointly owned by Airbus Group’s Eurocopter and AgustaWestland.
Safran’s Turbomeca unit, a helicopter engine business, now assumes global responsibility for the design, production, product support and services such as spares and maintenance, repair, overhaul (MRO) services for the RTM322 engine, the company said Sept. 2.
The deal was first revealed in late April, when Safran said Turbomeca was committed to continued technical and commercial development of the program to improve its global performance as well as to investments to serve the market in the long run.
The transaction allows Turbomeca autonomously to further innovate and develop new engines to benefit its customers in the more powerful 3,000 shp and beyond helicopter engine segment, a market segment where Turbomeca has no presence at this time, the companies said April 23.
As part of its plan, Safran said the acquisition also puts Turbomeca in position to provide future state-of-the-art and efficient propulsion solutions for the new heavy helicopter programs being contemplated around the world.
In the next 15 years, Turbomeca wants to supply about 3,500 engines for existing military platforms as well as future military and civilian platforms in the 8 to 13-ton range.
Turbomeca is expected to derive increasing synergies with the 50 percent of the program it already owns by streamlining the organization and processes and progressively taking full responsibility over the production and MRO services with the full support of Rolls-Royce.
After this transition period, Safran expects the benefits of owning the entire program–including synergies and new commercial opportunities–to represent an additional contribution to operating income of more than $39 million per year.
Rolls-Royce will provide full support during a transition phase enabling progressive transfer of all their activities to Turbomeca under the program.
The RRTM Adour engine program, which powers the Hawk and Jaguar aircraft, is unaffected by this sale, as are the other helicopter engine programs in the Rolls Royce portfolio.