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Euro space firm on the pad
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October 12, 1999: 7:43 a.m. ET
Court clears combination of Dasa, Matra Marconi interests
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LONDON (CNNfn) - DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) said Tuesday that its plan to form the world's third-largest space company was back on track after a German court threw out objections from a minority shareholder.
Dasa, a subsidiary of the German-U.S. automaker, plans to merge its space interests with those of Franco-British Matra Marconi to form a company to be known as Astrium.
The business would rank behind only Boeing (B) and Lockheed-Martin (LMT), with combined global sales of $1.6 billion last year.
Dasa and Matra Marconi have been seeking an alliance for two years. The talks were halted after a founding member of the Dornier aerospace group -- one of four firms merged to form Dasa -- vetoed the merger plan.
The injunction banning further negotiations was lifted by the supreme court in Stuttgart Tuesday after a judge ruled that the shareholder's minority interest barred them from delaying an important corporate decision.
Dasa welcomed the move, but declined to outline a timetable for the completion of a merger which is expected to see the German company and Matra Marconi Space each take a 50 percent stake.
Dasa is a major partner in Ariane
Dasa plans to contribute its space rocket manufacturing, satellite and launch systems units to Astrium. The rocket manufacturing unit is heavily involved in constructing the International Space Station, while the launch unit is a partner in the European Ariane consortium, the world's largest rocket-launch company.
Dasa's space interests had combined sales of $207 million last year.
Matra Marconi Space was formed in 1990 and is 49 percent controlled by Britain's Marconi -- which officially changed its name from GEC Monday -- and 51 percent owned by France's Aérospatiale-Matra. The group specializes in satellite construction and had sales of $1.4 billion last year.
Dasa's space unit accounts for just 14 percent of its total sales.
DaimlerChrysler shares were down 0.7 percent in Frankfurt. Marconi stock gained 2.2 percent and Aérospatiale-Matra was down 0.7 percent. 
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