Italy’s Alenia permitted blocking stake in Sukhoi subsidiary
15:37 | 14/ 01/ 2008
MOSCOW, January 14 (RIA Novosti) – President Vladimir Putin has
authorized Italy’s Alenia Aeronautica to acquire a blocking stake of
25% plus one share in a subsidiary of Russian aircraft maker Sukhoi,
the Kremlin said on Monday.
Alenia Aeronautica, the Russian state-owned aircraft manufacturer’s
strategic partner in a project to build a new family of Russian
regional jets, named Sukhoi SuperJet-100, is seeking a blocking stake
in Sukhoi Civil Aircraft, a subsidiary founded in 2000 to implement
civilian projects.
In the summer of 2007, Sukhoi and Alenia set up a joint venture to
promote the new aircraft on developed markets and provide post-sale
customer service around the world. Sukhoi SuperJet-100’s serial
production is scheduled to start this year.
A source close to the deal said the Italian plane maker would invest
around $200 million in the company in 2008, and provide guarantees for
loans for the project.
The SuperJet 100 project is a family of medium-range passenger aircraft
developed by the Sukhoi Design Bureau in cooperation with major
American and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma,
Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace, and Honeywell.
Sukhoi President Mikhail Pogosyan said late last year that the
SuperJet-100 production schedule has been completely filled with
confirmed orders from Russian air carriers until the start of 2010 and
partially through 2011.
The Russian president also said in a decree that foreign residents
should account for no more than 25% of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft
executives, and its chief executive should a Russian national.