Cassidian acquires Carl Zeiss optronics shares

Cassidian and Carl Zeiss AG have signed an agreement to run the optronics element of the latter jointly.

The contract was signed on 13 July, and Cassidian is set to acquire 75.1% of shares in Carl Zeiss Optronics, headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany.  

The ownership interests are to be assigned to Cassidian once all the necessary authorisations and anti-trust approvals have been granted, and the company said incorporating this sector of Carl Zeiss is a ‘strategic expansion’ of Cassidian’s existing sensor product portfolio.

‘Carl Zeiss Optronics will be able to make use of Cassidian’s global sales channels, offices and subsidiaries, as well as its know-how in the area of business development, and gains long-term prospects for its existing business activities as a result of this venture,’ a Cassidian statement said.

‘All in all, the two partners expect the new enterprise to improve their global market access and international competitiveness.’

The agreement includes a site and job security guarantee until 2015, and the company will be part of Cassidian’s Sensors and Electronic Warfare business line.

 ‘The acquisition of Carl Zeiss Optronics complements our existing industrial capabilities in the area of sensors, and will enable us in the coming years to develop an innovative, future-oriented and comprehensive “sensor House”, which will provide the customer with complete sensor solutions from a single source and become well-established on the global markets,’ Cassidian CEO Stefan Zoller said in the statement.

‘Our greatest concern is to provide optronics with a successful, long-term future,’ Michael Kaschke, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss AG continued.

‘In a market which has to cope with the drastically sinking defence budgets of NATO states and profound upheavals in regions such as Asia and North Africa, first-class market access and the strength of a globally leading company are among the most important factors for success.'

The Carl Zeiss optronics division develops and manufactures optronic, optic and precision-engineered products for military and civil applications at its German sites in Oberkochen and Wetzlar, and in Irene, South Africa. Its main focuses include: border surveillance systems; optical and opto-electronic devices and components for vehicles such as sensors and optics; and submarine periscopes.