Details Are sketchy, but a number of media reports have confirmed that French telecommunications and defence equipment firm Sagem Avionics, Inc., has acquired ARNAV Systems.  

A Reuters report quotes Sagem Finance Director Herve Philippe saying that the transaction required "in the order of several million dollars" and was a cash (versus stock) deal as a result of the Chapter 11 status of ARNAV.

The company notes that their first major project, after the ARNAV acquistion will be the STC of SAGEM Avionics' autopilot system and cockpit displays on the Ericsson S-64 Air Crane scheduled for later this year. The installation consists of two attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS), four 10.4 inch solid-state displays, and a 3-axis autopilot system. Future plans call for the certification of displays and autopilots on various helicopters.

Sagem's product lines include LCD cockpit displays, data processing and communication systems, airborne weather service and satellite phone.

Groupe SAGEM is an internationally based high-technology group. The second largest French group in the field of telecommunications, the third European company in electronics for defense and security, the world leader in fingerprint-based biometrics, major actor in avionics and information systems for aircraft, SAGEM maintains a presence in more than 20 countries.

FMI: www.sagem.com, www.arnav.com