Bromo faces the EU Antitrust test.
Leonardo, Airbus and Thales are about to submit a formal authorization request to the European Commission for the Bromo project, the industrial alliance in the satellite sector aimed at strengthening European competitiveness in space, according to reported by the Financial Times.
Last October 23, the three companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the aim of unifying their respective space activities into a new company, code-named Project Bromo. The three companies state that the operation would create a stronger European player, capable of competing with Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Chinese rivals. According to Leonardo’s new CEO, Lorenzo Mariani, the European green light for the Bromo space project should come “by the second half of 2027”.
Therefore, Brussels will be called upon to assess the impact of the concentration on the market, while criticism from some sector operators is not lacking.
The European space giant ready to emerge from the union of Airbus, Leonardo and Thales’ space activities could already face a legal battle before spreading its wings. The German satellite manufacturer Ohb has already warned that it may take legal action to challenge the merger. The Spanish company Indra Space has also expressed concerns, notes the FT, fearing that the project could reduce competition in the European satellite market.
All the details.
THE REQUEST FOR APPROVAL IN BRUSSELS
According to the British financial daily, the leadership of Leonardo, Airbus and Thales is intensifying discussions with European institutions ahead of the formal submission of the dossier related to the Bromo project. The goal is to obtain authorization to create a European industrial hub in the satellite sector, considered essential to compete globally.
The FT notes how both Leonardo’s CEO, Lorenzo Mariani, and Airbus’s CEO, Guillaume Faury, have recently reiterated the strategic value of the operation. “Their statements come at a time when the companies are about to submit a formal request to the European competition authorities,” reports the British daily.
THE EU ANTITRUST TEST
Recently, the European Commission, the Union’s antitrust authority, published new guidelines on concentrations that may place greater emphasis on the benefits derived from company size to compete in a global market. The merger in the space sector is seen in Brussels as one of the first test cases for the new policy on concentrations, emphasizes the Financial Times.
THE OPTIMISM OF LEONARDO’S NUMBER ONE
Also, in a recent interview with the Financial Times, Leonardo’s CEO, Mariani, highlighted the importance of industrial consolidation for the future of the European space sector.
“I am optimistic about the outcome because I believe everyone knows this is a fundamental step for Europe’s presence and importance in space,” Mariani explained. “Space is a growing sector, evolving very rapidly. We have witnessed interesting developments in the United States and worldwide. The least Europe can do is really join forces.”
The CEO of the Italian defense and aerospace giant added that a stronger European champion would benefit the entire ecosystem, especially with the increase in public and private investments in the sector.
“The only way to develop the entire supply chain is to create this champion,” he explained. “If we create this champion, the European supply chain will also be promoted and protected. If we do not, we will not protect the supply chain.”
THE SUPPORT OF THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT
Moreover, in our country, the satellite alliance project also enjoys the support of the Rome government.
The Bromo satellite project between Leonardo, Airbus and Thales can be “an example and a model” for other alliances in Europe, especially in new technologies, declared the Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso regarding the joint venture under discussion among the three industrial groups, which could be completed in 2027.
“It is a decisive project because it creates a European champion of satellite constellations capable of competing globally and ensuring Europe that strategic autonomy which is fundamental in the space economy,” added the minister. Urso also stressed that “it is important that it arises among Italy, France, Germany, which are the three founding countries, the three major industrial and space countries of our common European home. I hope it will be an example and a model of what needs to be achieved in other sectors, especially in the new technological frontiers where the size of companies is decisive to be able to invest, innovate and compete globally.”
AIRBUS’S APPEAL
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury also insisted on the need to increase the industrial size of European companies to maintain the continent’s competitiveness in the space sector.
Without consolidation, Europe risks going “from the Champions League to the lower leagues,” Faury said using a sports metaphor: “We have the skills, we have the capabilities, we have the technologies, but we lack scale.” The statements come as the European space sector is engaged in facing increasingly intense international competition, characterized by the emergence of new private players and increased investments in the sector.
COMPETITORS’ CONCERNS
Finally, as already mentioned, the European Commission’s evaluation will represent one of the first tests of the new EU guidelines on industrial concentrations. Meanwhile, concerns have emerged from other operators in the European space sector. Among these are the German Ohb and the Spanish Indra Space, who fear that the alliance between Leonardo, Airbus and Thales could reduce competition spaces in the European satellite market.
In a May 7 conference call on Ohb’s financial results, CEO Marco Fuchs stated that he would consider legal action if the EU antitrust authorities approved the merger of the satellite divisions of Airbus, Thales and Leonardo. It was not even the first time the German aerospace company voiced its opinion on the future newco, as early in 2025 it had already expressed readiness to raise concerns with EU competition authorities about the potential link between the two largest European satellite manufacturers.
