The Hindu Business Line : Mallya looks at jt venture with Airbus Industrie

BERLIN: Aerospace giant EADS is in talks with tycoon Mr Vijay Mallya to revive its single piston engine aircraft manufacturing business, as a potential tie-up offers cost advantage to the European firm and entry into general aviation for the Indian billi onaire.

SOCATA, the business jetliner arm of EADS, made public its project to relaunch its single piston engine line of product and is on the look out for a partner involving an entity willing to resume production at a much lower cost than the one in France.

"This is the very point that was approached in initial talks with Mr Mallya in the course of current discussions between him and Airbus (subsidiary of EADS),'' SOCATA Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) Mr Nicolas Chabbert said on the sidelines of the B erlin Air Show.

However, he was quick to add that the talks were still inconclusive. "There is no conclusions or any more development than this initial approach," Mr Chabbert said.

Mr Mallya, who founded Kingfisher Airlines in 2005 and acquired Deccan Aviation in 2007, had made his interest to diversify into general aviation public and at one time was interested in US-based small aircraft maker EPIC Aircraft.

The fate of the deal was not known as yet, though aviation industry sources said several complications had come in the way of a tie up between Mallya and EPIC. - PTI

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