As of August 2025 of the European aerospace company Airbus, Thales and Leonardo are continuing preliminary talks on a possible merger of their space divisions, despite missing the July deadline for deciding whether to initiate or cancel the merger. Discussion, which are conducted with the European Commission in the pre-notification phase, aim to create a single space company with annual revenue of approx 5 billions of euros to compete with such global players, like SpaceX.
The course of negotiations
Negotiations began in 2024 year due to concerns about the loss of competitiveness of the European space industry, particularly due to the dominance of SpaceX's Starlink. In February 2025 2018, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury expressed hope, that the merger could be structured according to the model of MBDA - the European consortium for the production of rockets, created in 2001 year with the participation of Airbus, BAE Systems і Leonardo. However, the complexity of the deal and strict control by EU antitrust regulators, probably, will postpone its completion until 2028 year.
Context and challenges
European space industry faces falling demand for geostationary telecommunications satellites, previously dominated by Airbus and Thales Alenia Space. At the same time, SpaceX with the Starlink constellation is taking over the broadband market. The merger aims to combine the satellite manufacturing divisions, space systems and services, to strengthen Europe's competitiveness.
Previous attempts to consolidate the space industry in Europe, like in the 2000s, failed due to resistance from the European Commission, which feared a decrease in competition. The current negotiations take these lessons into account, and companies actively communicate with stakeholders, to highlight the benefits, in particular for the IRIS² initiative – the European constellation of cost-effective communication satellites 10,6 billion euros, which should become operational in the 2030s.
Current status
Negotiations remain at an early stage, and no official merger announcements are expected until 2026 year. Companies seek to avoid significant job cuts and take national interests into account, to facilitate political approval. The missed July deadline shows the complexity of coordination between the three companies and regulators, but the dialogue continues, supporting the hope of creating a European space giant.
Source: https://spacenews.com