HELICOPTERS appear to be on the up and up. On July 20th Lockheed Martin, America’s biggest defence contractor, agreed to pay $9 billion to buy Sikorsky, which makes helicopters, from United Technologies (UTC), a conglomerate. It is the largest deal the defence business has witnessed in two decades, but it may not be the wisest. Offloading Sikorsky is a sensible move for UTC; buying it is a gamble for Lockheed.
Five big companies dominate the civil and military markets for helicopters—Sikorsky, Airbus, AgustaWestland, Bell and Boeing. All have hit thinner air, because demand for helicopters is unlikely to grow as strongly as it did over the past ten years, a period of booming sales.
The oil-and-gas industry, destination for over half of all civil helicopters, is showing softer demand. Helicopters are routinely used to shift people and equipment to oil platforms. Aberdeen, which serves the North Sea, is the world’s busiest heliport. Years of high prices encouraged oil companies to head offshore to exploit new reserves. The recent collapse has prompted them to slash costs and abandon...
from The Economist: Business http://ift.tt/1OzPKqk
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