and Thomson-CSF are merged to form a new entity, Alcatel Space; this was jointly owned by Alcatel and Thomson-CSF. By June 1998, implementation of the finalised agreement had commenced. The majority of Thomson-CSF's capital was transferred into private ownership. The French State reduced its holding in the company from 58% to 40%. At the time, Thomson-CSF's principal private shareholders were Alcatel and Dassault Industries. The division of the company's consumer electronics and defence businesses prior to privatisation brought about the creation of Thomson Multimedia, which was a distinct entity from Thomson-CSF. The independently-operating Thomson Multimedia has since been restructured and trades as Technicolor SA. Following its privatisation, Thomson-CSF continued to orient itself towards the defence electronics sector, establishing itself in overseas nations, including South Africa, Australia, South Korea and Singapore. Shortly after its privatisation, the company began exploring the possibility of merging with British defence specialist Marconi Electronic Systems. Its ambitions were foiled by the success of a rival bid by the defence and aerospace firm British Aerospace, which rebranded itself as BAE Systems shortly thereafter. Keen to expand its defence and technology business, Thomson-CSF announced the acquisition of the British defence electronics company Racal Electronics, which it purchased for £1.3 billion. As a result of its takeover of Racal, the UK became Thomson-CSF's second-largest domestic industrial base after France. Racal was initially rebranded Thomson-CSF Racal plc. Shortly after the Racal acquisition, Thomson-CSF conducted a strategic review of its portfolio of businesses. It adopted a new organisational structure comprising three business areas: defence, aerospace, and information technology and services. Management decided that the company ought to leverage its dual-purpose technology, marketing itself towards particular civil markets that held strong parallels with its established defence and aerospace competencies, such as mobile telecommunications. Meanwhile, non-strategic assets were divested. Thomson-CSF also explored business opportunities further afield. In December 2000, it was announced that the company was forming a joint venture with the American defence company Raytheon. This arrangement was claimed to be first transatlantic joint venture in the defence sector. During December 2000, Thomson-CSF was officially rebranded as Thales (from the Greek philosopher Thales, pronounced reflecting its pronunciation in French). References Citations Further reading L'entreprise partagée ? Une pratique différente des relations sociales : l'expérience Thomson-CSF, Robert Thomas (pseudonym for a team-work with Pierre Beretti and Jean-Pierre Thiollet), Paris, Maxima-Laurent du Mesnil Ed., 1999 Avionics companies Defunct manufacturing companies of France Technicolor SA