History
Alcatel Alenia Space was established on June 1, 2005 by the merger of Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio and was owned by Alcatel-Lucent (67%) and Finmeccanica (33%). The company was Europe's largest satellite manufacturer.
The creation of the company was concurrent with the creation of Telespazio Holding. This too was a merger of Finmeccanica and Alcatel businesses (Telespazio and Alcatel's Space Services and Operations respectively).
On April 5, 2006 Alcatel agreed to sell its share of Alcatel Alenia Space (and its 33% share of Telespazio) to Thales Group.
The European Union agreed in this financial operation on April 10, 2007.
Read more about this topic: Thales Alenia Space
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