An alliance combining the space activities of Thales and Airbus would be anti-competitive and threaten to create a monopoly in Europe that would be detrimental to customers and industry, the head of the continent’s third-biggest satellite manufacturer has warned.
Marco Fuchs, head of the family-controlled and Bremen-based OHB, told the Financial Times he planned to raise concerns with EU competition authorities about a potential tie-up between Europe’s two biggest satellite manufacturers, should talks between them result in concrete proposals.
He said: “That would be a very strong, market-dominating player. We are concerned. I think competition will be diminished.”