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Safran to acquire resilient PNT company Orolia

December 8, 2021  - By

Orolia logo

Safran has entered into exclusive discussions to acquire Orolia from Eurazeo alongside the founders and management. Orolia is a world leader in resilient positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) solutions that improve the reliability, performance and safety of critical civilian, military and space operations, including in harsh or altered GNSS environments.

Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Headquartered in Paris, France, Safran has a global presence, with 76,000 employees and sales of 16.5 billion euros in 2020.

Orolia has a broad portfolio of technologies across the resilient PNT value-chain with full system capabilities, and is a provider of PNT equipment, simulation and test solutions. Orolia is also providing emergency locator beacons for commercial aviation and military applications.

The acquisition “represents a unique opportunity for Safran and Orolia to extend their resilient PNT solutions, through their remarkable complementarities,” Safran stated in a press release. “With this addition, Safran will be able to build a world-leading position in all aspects of PNT, inertial navigation, time and GNSS receivers and simulators, covering aerospace, governmental and high integrity applications.”

Safran intends to accelerate the development of Orolia under the leadership of CEO Jean-Yves Courtois, and in full collaboration with its teams. “The combination of Orolia and Safran will create a PNT world leader with capabilities that will be unsurpassed in depth and breadth,” Courtois said. “Our perfect complementarity in terms of technology expertise, market presence and geographic footprint will allow us to push further resilient PNT to the next level and to offer our government, aerospace and commercial customers the most advanced solutions they need for their critical operations. Orolia will contribute especially through its world-leading positions in timing, GNSS simulation and emergency location technologies, and through its strong presence in the U.S. market. We are looking forward to working with our new Safran colleagues to advance our common vision.”

Orolia is expected to generate revenues of more than EUR 100 million in 2021 and has approximately 435 employees with facilities in France, the United States, Switzerland, Spain and Canada.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to the usual regulatory approvals. Orolia will be consolidated within Safran’s Equipment & Defense division upon closing, expected around mid-2022.

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About the Author: Tracy Cozzens

Senior Editor Tracy Cozzens joined GPS World magazine in 2006. She also is editor of GPS World’s newsletters and the sister website Geospatial Solutions. She has worked in government, for non-profits, and in corporate communications, editing a variety of publications for audiences ranging from federal government contractors to teachers.