buglerbilly
11-08-11, 01:25 PM
(Source: Forecast International; issued August 10, 2011)
JERUSALEM --- A proposed merger between Israel Military Industries, Ltd. (IMI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is no longer being considered after Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) chairman Ofer Eini earlier this week.
The three agreed that plans for the merger were off the table and that instead the focus will shift to trying to privatize IMI. This past January, talk had emerged that there were plans to consolidate Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael and IMI into one large defense conglomerate with IAI as its head.
There had been talks of merging IMI with other defense firms in the past, with similar results. The impetus for these talks has been IMI's struggle to compete with its domestic rivals. One of the principal issues for IMI is its competition with Rafael for provision of an anti-missile protective shield for Israeli armored vehicles.
IMI has developed the Iron Fist, which is intended for the Namer armored infantry vehicle. Rafael has countered with its Windbreaker system (named Trophy for the export market) for both the Namer and the Merkava main battle tank.
IMI was established as Israel's first defense manufacturer. It was incorporated in 1990 as a state-owned enterprise. Defense Minister Barak and Finance Minister Steinitz have requested a loan of ILS90 million from the Knesset Finance Committee to pay for IMI's July salary obligations and the purchase of raw materials for production.
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JERUSALEM --- A proposed merger between Israel Military Industries, Ltd. (IMI) and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems is no longer being considered after Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak met with Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in Israel) chairman Ofer Eini earlier this week.
The three agreed that plans for the merger were off the table and that instead the focus will shift to trying to privatize IMI. This past January, talk had emerged that there were plans to consolidate Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Rafael and IMI into one large defense conglomerate with IAI as its head.
There had been talks of merging IMI with other defense firms in the past, with similar results. The impetus for these talks has been IMI's struggle to compete with its domestic rivals. One of the principal issues for IMI is its competition with Rafael for provision of an anti-missile protective shield for Israeli armored vehicles.
IMI has developed the Iron Fist, which is intended for the Namer armored infantry vehicle. Rafael has countered with its Windbreaker system (named Trophy for the export market) for both the Namer and the Merkava main battle tank.
IMI was established as Israel's first defense manufacturer. It was incorporated in 1990 as a state-owned enterprise. Defense Minister Barak and Finance Minister Steinitz have requested a loan of ILS90 million from the Knesset Finance Committee to pay for IMI's July salary obligations and the purchase of raw materials for production.
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