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Skynet 5 PFI Wins Accolade On Thursday, 29 January 2004 at the Infrastructure Journal annual awards, the Skynet 5 Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract, which was signed by EADS’ Paradigm Secure Communications and the UK Ministry of Defence in October last year, was acclaimed as “PPP Deal of the Year 2003”. The success of Skynet 5 is a vote of confidence in the EADS' approach to winning and then delivering the necessary final contract and financing to ensure PFI agreements are a success.This is the second such accolade for Skynet 5 in less than a month. It follows Thomson Financial "PPP Deal of the Year" award presented at the PFI Annual Awards. The Skynet 5 PFI contract marks a new era in military satellite communications (milsatcoms). The UK MOD is now receiving all its operational milsatcoms through Paradigm Secure Communications under a service provision contract which extends through to 2018. With this groundbreaking contract, the MOD does not need to expend valuable resources to manage its milsatcom network or buy its own satellite and ground terminal assets. This innovative approach means the MOD can pay for services as they are required and allows Paradigm to introduce new technologies and fresh ideas in a much more dynamic way than ever before. The Skynet 5 PFI is no small undertaking – demanding 6 years' concerted effort from an initial study phase through to final contract award. The three lead banks remained with the Paradigm team throughout and jointly faced a range of challenges never before tackled within a PFI framework. The demanding requirements of highly structured satellite launch insurance being one example, and national security aspects imposed by a military programme also adding a new dimension to securing the required levels of finance. Paradigm, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, EADS, is expected to earn in excess of £2.5 billion under the 15 year concession granted by the MOD. This makes Skynet 5 the largest defence project to date to have been implemented using the UK government's Public Private Partnership (PPP) approach. Skynet 5 is only the most recent example of EADS’ ability to structure and deliver a large and complex UK Defence PFI. It is a key player within the Air Tanker team which has just been selected for negotiation of the £13bn Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme. EADS’ strong financial track record has recently been shown to be a major advantage when negotiating long-term deals. Governments are increasingly looking to the private sector to structure their equipment and service supply using innovative financial and service solutions, which are resilient over the long term. The commitment of EADS to finding such solutions, which match both customer needs and are attractive to the financial markets, marks it out as a trailblazer in the application of PFI/PPP programmes within the Defence industry. The technical, design and engineering excellence of the full range of EADS businesses continues to be supported by the financial transaction skills of the company. A number of prospective PFI deals are currently being negotiated and EADS looks forward to future success, building on what has been achieved with Skynet 5. EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2002, EADS generated revenues of € 29.9 billion and employed a workforce of more than 100,000. The EADS Group includes the aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the world's largest helicopter supplier Eurocopter and the joint venture MBDA, the second largest missile producer in the global market. EADS is the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium, is the prime contractor for the Ariane launcher, develops the A400M military transport aircraft and is the largest industrial partner for the European satellite navigation system Galileo. CONTACTS EADS UK Theo Benien Tel: +44 (0) 20 7845 8413 EADS Astrium Alistair Scott Tel: +44 (0) 1438 773698 Paradigm Mary Walmsley Tel: +44 (0) 1438 774419 Merlin Tel: +44 (0) 20 7653 6620 David Simonson/ Tom Randell |
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