12 Jul 2001
BAE Systems and EADS, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company completed the legal and tax procedures on Wednesday July 11 to make the fully integrated Airbus company a formal legal entity. The new entity is named Airbus, it is incorporated under french law as an SAS (Societe par Action Simplifiee) and based in Toulouse, France. Airbus has operations in France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain aswell as subsidiaries in China, Japan and North America.
Airbus has been operating as a fully integrated company since January of this year. It's two shareholders, BAE Systems and EADS, announced at that time that all contractual conditions required for the integration of the Airbus activities of both partners were fulfilled and agreement on common decisions had been reached, including the future Airbus Business Plan.
BAE Systems and EADS have been working closely together in the last months developing solutions to the challenging legal and tax issues that came with such a unique trans-European move leading to the integration of industrial structures in four European countries.
BAE Systems and EADS have jointly implemented the new integrated Airbus management structure. A shareholder committee with five appointees from EADS and two from BAE Systems is chaired by EADS CEO Rainer Hertrich. The shareholders committee approves the Airbus business plan aswell as major investments and new programmes.
Noel Forgeard is the CEO of Airbus. He heads an Executive Committee of ten persons with Dr Gustav Humbert as COO. Noel Forgeard and the Executive Committee manage all Airbus activities and make all business decisions.
Airbus SAS is an EADS joint company with BAE Systems. EADS owns 80 percent and BAE Systems 20 percent of the shares. Airbus recorded revenues in 2000 of $17 billion. In the same year Airbus delivered 311 aircraft. There is an order backlog of more than 1,714 aircraft which exceeds that of the competition. Airbus employs some 44,000 people in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Airbus SAS is consolidated 100 percent into EADS. Airbus SAS is expected to have a consolidated annual turnover of more than $17 billion.
