SES CEO welcomes European satellite merger if it meets market's demand

April 30 (Reuters) - The CEO of European satellite company SES SESFg.LU welcomed on Wednesday the potential merger of the space businesses of Airbus AIR.PA, Thales TCFP.PA and Leonardo LDOF.MI, but only if it meets the demands of the market and spurs competition.

WHY IT MATTERS

Airbus, Thales and Leonardo, Europe's top aerospace companies, are in preliminary talks with EU antitrust officials over a possible merger of their satellite businesses.

The talks are at a very early stage that would not be expected to lead to any material outcome until well into next year, a source told Reuters last month.

SES buys satellites from Thales Alenia Space and Airbus, and the support of a customer may increase the chances of the European Commission approving the proposed deal.

KEY QUOTES

"If that merger will allow them to be more competitive and meet the demands and the challenges of the market, then I think it’s the right thing to do," SES' CEO Adel Al-Saleh told Reuters.

"If it’s just making a bigger company and slower and less innovative, then it’s not a good thing," he said in an interview.

CONTEXT

European space companies have been for long looking at ways to turn around their expensive and at times loss-making space businesses.

Sector consolidation could help match the scale and speed of U.S. and Chinese competitors, according to Airbus head Guillaume Faury.