Thalès (undertaken)

See also: Thalès (homonymy)

Thalès , in the past Thomson-CSF until in 2000, is a company of electronics specialized in the aerospace one, the information defense and technologies.

The Thalès group is divided into six divisions: Aerospace, Air Systems, Land & Joined Systems, Naval, Security solution and Services (D3S). The success of the group is explained by its capacity to develop multi-domestic critical systems.

The Thalès action is with dimensions with the Bourse de Paris.

History of the group

For the history before 1990, to see the article Thomson-CSF.

  • 1990 : the acquisition of Signaal to the Netherlands, Link Miles and Redifon MEL gives a dominating place to Thomson on the market of the Simulation. Division Thomson Training Simulation is created (TTS).

  • 1991 : signing of a contract of 2,8 billion dollars for the sale in Taiwan of six frigates of the Classe Fayette which will be at the origin of the Affaire of the frigates of Taiwan.

  • 1993 : transfer of the activity electric household appliances (TEM), largely resulting from Thomson-Brandt, with the group Electro Finanziara SpA which creates in 1995 the company Brandt SA .

  • 1995 : Thomson Consumer Electronics becomes Thomson Multimédia .

  • 1996 : creation of Thomson Marconi Sonar.

  • 1998 : the government decides to separate the activities from defense (Thomson-CSF) and the activities general public (Thomson Multimedia) before the Privatization. Acquisitions of ADI (Australia), ADS (South Africa), Sextant In-Flight Systems (the USA), Avimo (the United Kingdom and Singapore).

  • 1999 : acquisition of Dassault Electronics which, amalgamated with the activities radars, countermeasures and homing heads of Thomson, will become Thomson-CSF Detexis.

  • 2000 : the companies become, for defense Thalès and the general public Thomson SA. Acquisition of Racal (Grande_Bretagne) and creation of Samsung Thomson-CSF (South Korea).

  • In 2005, Thalès approached DCNS (ex-Direction of Naval construction) by taking 25% of its capital, to impose themselves in the military naval sector in Europe and to create the core of a “  Airbus naval  ”.

  • In 2007, Alcatel-Lucent and Thalès sign an agreement for the transfer of the transport activities, safety and space at Thalès, as well as an industrial agreement between the two groups.

Creation of Thalès Alenia Space.

Thalès employs 55  367 paid and carries out a turnover of 10,26 billion euros for a clear benefit of 334 million euros. Thalès is held to 27,3% by the French State, 21% by Alcatel-Lucent, 5% by the industry group Marcel Dassault, 3,9% by the employee stock ownership, the floating remainder out of Stock Exchange.

The group, which became the number two of defense in Great Britain, cooperates with its British counterpart BAE Systems on the project of the two future aircraft carriers of Royal Navy.

Shareholding

Since April 18th, 2007, the distribution of the shareholding of the Thalès group is the following:
  • French State: 27,3%
  • Alcatel-Lucent: 21%
  • Dassault: 5%
  • paid: 3,9%
  • self-checking: 1,8% public
  • : 42.9%

Presidents director-generals

Subsidiary companies

Public integrity

The group Thalès and Thomson-CSF were implied in several politico-financial businesses.

Business of the frigates of Taiwan

  • the investigation carries on 500 million US dollars of occult commissions and of Rétrocommission S poured in margin of the sale of six Frégates Lafayette by Thomson with Taiwan in 1991
  • a searching with the head office of Thalès in VIIIe district of Paris was held the June 18th 2002.
  • Jean-Claude Desjeux, the former legal director of Thomson CSF, admitted having received a million francs in 1997 on an account domiciled in Suisse. It was put in examination for “Recel of abuse of corporate asset” by the judge Renaud Van Ruymbeke. He would have explained to the investigators why it was about a personal loan affirming even to have refunded it. He worked in relation to Jean-Claude Albessard, person in charge of the company for Asia, embanked in May 2000 by a striking down cancer. Like Jean-Claude Albessart, Jean-Claude Desjeux would have maintained the close contacts with the intermediary Andrew Wang. It would have been in particular occupied for the account of Thomson of the “Parisian businesses” of the intermediary: apartment, rents, relations with the syndic…
  • the current direction of Thalès, chaired by Denis Ranque, said not to be not concerned by the investigation, and was disunited of Alain Gomez, chairman of Thomson CSF at the time of the facts.

Convinced of the existence of Rétrocommission S, Thalès could ask that the million dollars seized on the Swiss accounts of Andrew Wang be sequestered. The money could then be used for the payment of the civil litigation with Taiwan which requires that France refund the occult commissions that the contract signed in 1991 prohibited formally by its article 18.

References

  • the former legal director of Thomson put in examination , Le Figaro, February 19th 2005
  • the business of the frigates rebounds with a searching with the head office of Thalès - AFP - June 18th 2002
  • the frigates hide to die , Bakchich, November 24th, 2005

Business Zuma in South Africa

The Affaire Zuma in South Africa interests two local companies representing Thalès: Thint and Thint Holding. They were accused the November 4th 2005 in the lawsuit for corruption of the former vice-president Jacob Zuma thanked in June 2006. They appeared before justice in July 2006.

Business of the tram of Nice

In 2005, Dominique Monleau, an elected official of the municipal majority UMP of Nice, was put in examination to have touched an under the counter payment in the attribution of the market of control of work of the tram of Nice to an old subsidiary company of Thalès.

External bond

  • Official site

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