Safran has started “exclusive negotiations” with Air Liquide to acquire its oxygen generation activities on board aircraft, an operation that should allow it to strengthen its position in the military segment, the aeronautical equipment manufacturer announced Thursday.
These Air Liquide activities employ just over 200 people based in Sassenage (Isère) and represent a turnover of more than 40 million euros, Safran said in a press release, without specifying the amount of the planned transaction. World leader in oxygen systems for crew and passengers, Safran intends with the activities of Air Liquide “to acquire an additional technological brick in a very complementary market”, said Sébastien Weber, president of Safran Aerosystems.
An operation that must be completed “early 2024”
Oxygen systems are an essential element of aircraft safety in the event of cabin depressurization or smoke release. Safran already designs oxygen supply systems for pilots (oxygen masks and cylinders) and for passengers through a chemical generation process. “When the yellow mask falls and you shoot it, you actually hit a chemical cartridge and it’s the chemical reaction that creates oxygen,” he explained.
The activities of Air Liquide to which it points are the oxygen generators, called Obogs, thanks to which the gas is “generated directly from the air of the engine”, he detailed.
In addition to Obogs, which account for more than two-thirds of the business being acquired, the transaction should also include the production of crew fume hoods. The operation, which must be submitted for information to the personnel authorities of the two companies and be subject to the “usual regulatory authorizations”, must be completed “at the beginning of 2024”.
Source: BFM TV
