France’s new Socialist-led government has scrapped the planned privatization of Thomson CSF, Europe’s largest defense and electronics group with a turnover of $6.3bn, saying that instead it will build a French professional and defense electronics pillar. It told Reuters privatization would not preserve the interests of the state, the company and its employees. A plans for the company is promised in the next few weeks. Its predecessors in power had rebuffed an attempt by GEC’s to acquire the state’s 58% holding, while the general election knocked the wind out of a joint bid by Alcatel Alsthom SA and Dassault Industrie SA (CI No 3,144). The European defense business is under pressure to end its squabbles and forge its own partnerships following consolidation in the US industry, including Lockheed Martin Corp’s $7.19bn acquisition of Northrop Grumman Corp. Which rebuffed to merge with Thomson-CSF earlier this year
