Communiqué from the Competition Council regarding the economic concentration project concerning the establishment by the companies “Airbus S.E.”, “Thales S.A.” and “Leonardo S.p.A” of a joint venture active in the space sector

In accordance with Article 13 of Law No. 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition and Article 10 of Decree No. 2-14-652 adopted for its implementation, as amended and supplemented, the Competition Council makes available to the public the “operation summary” below, containing the information provided by the parties.

This information has been prepared by the notifying parties, who are solely responsible. Any inaccurate or distorted information contained therein does not in any way prejudge the Competition Council’s position on the proposed operation.

The publication of this communiqué does not attest to the completeness of the file provided for in Article 9 of Decree No. 2-14-652 adopted for the implementation of Law No. 104-12 on freedom of prices and competition, as amended and supplemented.

Names of the companies and groups concerned:

The founding companies of the joint venture:

• The company “Airbus S.E.”;
• The company “Thales S.A.”;
• The company “Leonardo S.p.A”.

Nature of the operation

• Creation of a joint venture.

Economic sectors concerned

• The space sector

Deadline for interested third parties to submit their observations

• 10 days from the date of publication of this communiqué, i.e. September 9, 2026.

NON-CONFIDENTIAL SUMMARY OF THE OPERATION PROVIDED BY THE PARTIES

The Competition Council has received notification of an economic concentration project concerning the establishment by the companies “Airbus S.E.”, “Thales S.A.” and “Leonardo S.p.A”, of a joint venture operating in the space sector.

“Airbus S.E.” is a European company under Dutch law with a share capital of 792,283,683 euros, registered in the Netherlands under number 24288945 with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (Kamer van Koophandel). Its registered office is located at Mendelweg 30, 2333 CS Leiden, Netherlands. “Airbus” operates globally in the aerospace, space, and defense sectors.

“Thales S.A.” is a French public limited company with a share capital of 617,825,739 euros, registered in the Trade and Companies Register under number 552059024 (R.C.S. Nanterre). Its registered office is located at 4 rue de la Verrerie, 92190 Meudon, France. “Thales” operates globally in the defense, aerospace, cyber, and digital sectors.

“Leonardo S.p.A” is an Italian public limited company, with a share capital of 2,490,269,181 euros, registered in the Trade and Companies Register under number 00401990585. Its registered office is located at Piazza Monte Grappa n°4, 00195 Rome, Italy. “Leonardo” is a global industrial group specialized in the aerospace, defense, and security sectors.

The joint venture will aim to bring together certain space activities of the founders to create a pan-European space player with critical mass across the entire value chain of the satellite sector.

 

Rabat, August 28, 2026.