OREANDA-NEWS. January 17, 2008. Alenia Aeronautica, Finmeccanica Company, and Sukhoi express full satisfaction for the President Vladimir Putin’s decree which gives the green light to the acquisition by Alenia Aeronautica of 25% + one share of SCAC, Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company, the Russian company responsible for the design, development and production of the new regional jet Sukhoi Superjet 100, the Sukhoi press service reported.

Thanks to this ad-hoc presidential decree, it is possible for Alenia to complete the legal procedures to result in acquisition of 25%+1 share in Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company. The 25% plus one share participation in SCAC will allow Alenia Aeronautica to appoint non-Russian citizens for the Company’s Board of Directors.

“The Presidential Decree is another significant milestone for Sukhoi and Alenia strategic partnership sealed by the General Agreement signed at Le-Bourget 2007. It’s an unprecedented sign of credibility to our mutual cooperative effort which promises to become the vastest joint Russian-European project in the aviation field. With the “green light” from the Russian President the synergy of Sukhoi and Alenia becomes a reality which will become a key input to Sukhoi Superjet 100 Program worldwide success,” stated Sukhoi Holding CEO Mikhail Pogosyan.

“Finmeccanica is deeply satisfied with the decree signed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. It gives Alenia Aeronautica the all-clear to secure a stake in SCAC by acquiring a large enough share to break through the 25%- ceiling imposed under the Russian current legislation on the share ownership of Russian strategic companies, such as those in the aeronautics industry, by non-Russian entities”, said Giorgio Zappa, Alenia Aeronautica Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Finmeccanica.

“The Kremlin’s decision – Giorgio Zappa added – marks a further step forward in relations between our Group and Russia, a country with which we have been having major industrial agreements since long, and confirms the strategic importance of a regional aircraft programme, whose market is set to grow apace.”

SCAC is the company established by Sukhoi Holding for the design, production, marketing, certification and delivery of the Superjet 100 regional jet family – the most modern and ecological regional transport aircraft available in the market – and is the lead company for the promotion and sales in Russia, CIS countries, China, India, Middle East and South-Eastern Asia.

Alenia Aeronautica and Sukhoi have also created Superjet International, a new joint venture (51% Alenia Aeronautica and 49% Sukhoi), based in Venice, responsible for the marketing, sales and delivery of the Superjet 100 on all the Western markets and of the worldwide after-sales support of the aircraft. Superjet International is also responsible for the design of the VIP and cargo versions of the aircraft.