France based aerospace major Dassault Aviation is looking at buying out the stake of Anil Ambani owned Reliance Defence in their joint venture (JV) Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL), which operates a plant in Nagpur.
DRAL, having its production facility at a 62-acre plot in the MIHAAN Special Economic Zone in Nagpur, is currently engaged in the assembly of Rafale components, including engine doors, rudder, elevons, windshields, canopy, etc.
However, the production activities in the plant has been reported to have been slowdown due to financial problems faced by the Reliance Defence.
It has been further reported that Dassault has already initiated talks with Reliance Defence over buying the stake.
As of now, the JV is unable to make the investment required to keep it going.
While the French firm owns a 49 percent stake in the joint venture, 51 percent is held by Reliance Defence.
Notably, the JV was formed in 2017 by the two companies, which had entered into the joint venture to handle the offset obligations arising out of India’s USD 7.6 billion deal to buy 36 Rafale fighter jets.
Now, with the Indian Government recently announcing the selection of the Naval Rafale (Rafale-M) to equip the Indian Navy with a latest-generation fighter, it is most likely that Dassault Aviation might manufacture the the components at the DRAL’s plant in Nagpur.
Source: https://theprint.in/
