Airbus acquires Cassidian Optronics

Airbus Defence and Space announced on 1 October that it had acquired the outstanding 24.9% stake of Cassidian Optronics from Carl Zeiss.

Cassidian, now Airbus Defence and Space, acquired a 75.1% stake in electro-optic systems manufacturer Carl Zeiss Optronics in July 2012 for an amount later reported to be EUR121 million (USD152 million). Terms of the deal for the remaining 24.9% stake were not disclosed.

The business, which had been rebranded as Cassidian Optronics following the acquisition of the controlling stake in 2012, has also been rebranded in line with Airbus Group's current rebranding and restructuring programme. The new business, which is headquartered in Germany with facilities in Algeria, Brazil, South Africa, and South Korea, is to be known as Airbus DS Optronics.