中国航空法律服务中心

AVIC buys US air motor firm

By Fu Wen

The Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) International announced Thursday that the company had completed its acquisition of Alabama-based Teledyne Continental Motors, a piston aircraft engine producer.

It is the first time a Chinese aviation company has acquired a US aviation manufacturing firm, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

State-owned AVIC International obtained 100 percent of shares of Continental Motors and Teledyne Mattituck Services, Inc from California-based Teledyne Technologies Inc, and the deal is conducted through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Technify Motor (USA) Inc, according to a statement released by AVIC International Thursday.

AVIC International regards the closing of this acquisition as an important step in the company's implementation of its global aviation industry strategy, the statement said.

"China is opening its regulations for low-altitude airspace continuously, and the Chinese general aviation market is just now unfolding," said Wu Guangquan, president of AVIC International, according to Xinhua.

"Through the acquisition, AVIC International will help expand the product pedigree of aviation engines and be prepared for the all-round development of the Chinese general aviation market."

In a measure that would see private jet and helicopter services benefit the most, a circular issued by the State Council and the Central Military Commission in November said they would loosen controls on regulations governing low-altitude airspace.

"Apart from supporting the domestic general aviation industry, AVIC International is also considering exporting aviation motor technology to emerging markets like Africa and Latin America, where our company has strong competence in the last three decades," AVIC International spokesman Liu Shengjun told the Global Times Thursday.

The purchase may also help China develop military aviation motors, said a professor at the China Aviation University in Tianjin Thursday.
"The purchase may benefit domestic military aviation motor technologies," Zhang Qihuai told the Global Times.

"Since advanced civilian use technologies could be applied to military aviation motor development."

Zhang doubted such a deal would boost domestic military motor technologies as the US would not sell the most advanced technologies to China.

"Key developments in aviation motor technologies for both military and civilian use still rely on our independent research," he said.

Besides buying foreign technologies, AVIC will also invest 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in independent aviation motor technology research and development over the next five years, Ding Zhiyong, an AVIC spokesman, said Thursday.