Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has expressed optimism that current discussions with Thales and Leonardo would end in an agreement for the three businesses’ space divisions. He said he anticipated regulatory approval will take two years.

Faury was speaking at a conference session at the Paris Air Show.

He specifically addressed the proposed merger, saying the industry needed production scale. “We are in the middle of creating with Thales and Leonardo a company with the critical mass for satellites and services, and I hope we get there,” Faury said.

He added that it was rare to see such alignment and the agreed need for scale, noting: “But there is also the issue of speed. We need to obtain the approval of European regulators and we do not control that process.”

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Tags: Airbus, Thales