The French defense industry is teeming with thousands of small strategic companies, often unknown to the general public. Among these SMEs, Segault supplies the Naval Group with valves for the nuclear boiler rooms that equip French nuclear submarines, including the Suffren, as well as the aircraft carrier Charles-de-Gaulle.
This Essonne-based company could move to the US flag through US-based Flowserve’s acquisition of its Canadian parent, Velan, a company with 1,650 employees. Founded in 1921, Segault was acquired by Velan in 2007.
Velan is a strategic acquisition for Flowserve. The Canadian company equips US Navy and NATO ships, as well as all US Navy nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. Segault valves are strategic in their ability to withstand temperatures of 2000°K.
“Mass is not said”
The French company could thus contribute its technologies to the Australian submarines supplied by the United States within the framework of Aukus. This geopolitical agreement signed with Australia and the United Kingdom is at the origin of the breach of the submarine contract with France.
revealed by The galery, this project could be completed “by the end of the second quarter of 2023”. In theory, the $245 million transaction should be completed entirely in cash, Flowseserve said in a statement.
The operation would be a real blow to French sovereignty in terms of defense in general and deterrence in particular. But for the Ministry of the Armed Forces, “the mass is not said.” In “the coming weeks, a plan will be presented to protect” French companies involved in the nuclear deterrence from being taken over by foreign funds or companies.
Source: BFM TV
