EU clears Anglo-Italian defence deal

EU regulators today approved a deal between BAE Systems and Italy’s Finmeccanica to create a major joint venture in defence electronics.

“These transactions do not raise competition concerns in Europe since overlaps are limited and other large and capable players compete for these military equipments,” the European Commission said.

Finmeccanica announced in January that it had signed a final agreement with BAE to create Eurosystems, a set of three joint ventures in defence electronics.

Finmeccanica said it would pay the British group £360m (€516m) as part of a deal that will create Europe’s second-largest group in the sector.

BAE spokesman said the deal would create a clearer management structure would also increase the chances of landing contracts in an industry that is dominated by heavyweight manufacturers.