Sonaca has reached an agreement to acquire 51% of the aerostructures activities of the European specialist Aciturri, with the support of its historical shareholders, Wallonie Entreprendre and SFPIM. Through this union, these two industrial flagships aim to become a world leader in the design of the aircraft of tomorrow. To build this European champion, both Spanish and Belgian shareholders will remain active in the governance of the combined entity.
Aciturri is a family-owned business created in 1977 in Spain with operations mainly in the field of aerostructures and has also an aeronautical engine parts division. Aciturri's aerostructures business has nearly 2.500 employees and expects a turnover of 400 million euros in 2024. The company is widely recognized for its expertise, especially in the manufacturing of composite aerostructures. These lighter structures are essential to the development of new, more eco-friendly aircraft. Aciturri's engine components business, the Caetano Aeronautic plant in Portugal and Aciturri Tech, are outside the scope of the acquisition.
Sonaca, with an expected turnover of 700 million euros in 2024, is one of the global leaders in the development, certification and manufacturing of aircraft structures and system integration. With a presence in 6 countries and 3,700 employees, Sonaca serves major OEMs with competences spread throughout civil, defense and space markets.
The announced integration is, above all, an industrial partnership: Sonaca, a leader in the manufacturing of metallic structures, and Aciturri, a leader in composite structures, will together form a group of approximately 6,200 employees across 7 countries, with a turnover of more than 1.1 billion euros in 2024. Together, Sonaca and Aciturri will become the 3rd independent global player, excluding the subsidiaries of major prime contractors (i.e., aircraft and engine manufacturers), a leader capable of providing aircraft manufacturers with unique expertise in the design and production of tomorrow’s aircraft.
In a sector that is stepping up research and development efforts to create low-carbon air transport solutions, the combination of Aciturri and Sonaca will enable the acceleration of research programs to contribute to the development of a low-carbon aircraft by 2035 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, ambitious objectives set by the entire aeronautics sector globally.
Upon completion of the transaction, both parties will work on the details of the integration. The combination of Sonaca and Aciturri Aerostructure will be grounded in ensuring the continuity of business activities at all current locations and maintaining management teams in each country. The completion of the transaction is subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals.
For the CEO of Sonaca, Yves Delatte, this union is a decisive step not only for Sonaca, but also for the entire European aeronautics industry: "In the face of the global consolidation of the aerostructures sector, Sonaca and Aciturri are joining forces to play a leading role globally. Only by becoming together a European and global leader, we will enable Europe to retain a leading position in the design and production of the future more sustainable aircraft."
Ginés Clemente, Executive Chairman and Founder of Aciturri, expressed his satisfaction with this agreement, emphasizing: “The internationalization of Aciturri Aeroestructures is an important and necessary step to secure our business activities. Sonaca’s business areas and its customer base will provide new opportunities for growth for our company and for our entire team.”
"The new integrated group will need all its stakeholders and new talents to meet the growing production demand of our customers, deliver new contracts and develop our research projects for future aircraft," concludes Yves Prete, Chairman of the Group's Board of Directors.