Tadiran Communications new majority shareholder in EADS Racoms

Tadiran Communications Ltd., a global industry leader in the special field of combat-proven military communications solutions, will acquire 75 percent of EADS RACOMS GmbH und Co. KG based in Ulm, Germany. Tadiran and EADS, the number two in global aerospace and defence, have signed an acquisition agreement on Monday in Ulm. The implementation of the transaction is subject to the prior approval of the German cartel authorities.

EADS and Tadiran Communications consider their new partnership in RACOMS as the beginning of a strategic cooperation envisaged to include a variety of future defence and security issues.

The acquisition of RACOMS is part of Tadiran Communications’ strategy to enhance its presence and expand its product supplier business in Europe.

EADS Business Unit Defence and Communications Systems is the EADS system house offering the whole range of capabilities in command, control, communications and computing to meet the requirements of the defence customers. It continues its strategy to focus on and strengthen its Lead System integration business. Military Communications Systems remains a core business for EADS as a prerequisite for future network enabled operations.

Tadiran Communications intends to develop RACOMS as a leading military communications product supplier in Europe. Tadiran sees great marketing and business potential in the combination of its technological skills and know-how with those of RACOMS, and the utilization of Tadiran Communications Global Marketing Network for the marketing and sales of RACOMS products.

RACOMS, a reputable and leading supplier of HF radio technologies and products, specializes in the development and sales of military HF radio systems and advanced European and NATO compliant communication modems and protocols. RACOMS’ product lines include millimeter-wavelength communication systems, VHF power amplifiers and other communication and control systems. RACOMS participates in the Euro-Radio program under which a new, European software radio is being developed.

RACOMS is a well established German radio technology house and currently has 85 highly skilled employees in Ulm. In 2002, it generated total sales of € 45 million. It began its activities over 100 years ago as part of Telefunken and developed the first German military radio.

RACOMS applies its military expertise and capabilities also in the civilian markets. In the civilian area it has developed and supplies the communication systems for the super-fast Transrapid trains. RACOMS’ core competence includes program management, system engineering, system integration and hardware and software development.

EADS is the second largest aerospace and defence company in the world with revenues of € 29.9 billion in the year 2002 and a workforce of more than 100,000. As a Lead Systems integrator it is one of the few companies worldwide capable of combining various products and technologies to form complete systems and offering the associated services. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the second largest missile producer in the global market. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo. EADS has over 70 sites in France, Germany, Great Britain and Spain and is active in many regions worldwide, amongst them America, Russia and Asia.

With over 40 years of experience in the development, manufacture and marketing of combat-proven military communications solutions, Tadiran Communications is a global industry leader in its fields of specialization. The company’s secure and immune military communications systems and equipment for all air, sea and ground platforms serve the armed forces of over 50 countries worldwide. Main product families include short, medium and long-range communications, covering all frequency bands, with specific expertise in HF/VHF communications. A fully-owned Florida subsidiary, Talla-Com, and the Talla-Com subsidiary, Talla-Tech, focus on military computers and amplifiers. Another subsidiary, Tadlys, specializes in the development of Bluetooth based products. Tadiran Communications is also active in wireless communications for the civilian market. Tadiran Communications’ annual 2002 sales reached $225.8 million, up 47% from the 2001 total. Tadiran Communications is owned by the Shamrock Group (36%), the FIMI Group (18%), the public (46%).

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