to the merger of Rolls-Royce Motors Holdings and Vickers Limited became unconditional. Perkins Engines The Rolls-Royce diesel business was acquired from Vickers in 1984 by Perkins Engines. Perkins further developed the Eagle Diesels into the Perkins TX series of engines. 1977 Rolls-Royce drops (1971) from its name The name of Rolls-Royce (1971) Limited was changed to Rolls-Royce Limited on 31 December 1977 the end of the company's financial year. The original Rolls-Royce Limited incorporated in 1906 and still in liquidation had been renamed Rolls-Royce Realisations Limited and had consented in March 1977 to the (1971) company being named Rolls-Royce Limited Limited was replaced by plc (public limited company) in the summer of 1986 so shares could be offered to the public and traded on sharemarkets. 1987 privatisation In April 1987, the government offered for sale all Rolls-Royce plc shares. The heavily advertised issue was a remarkable success. Rolls-Royce's was an exceptionally long-term business. Before a civil aero engine went into service its development could take 4 to 6 years, military engines often longer. Production might then extend a further 50 years including the manufacture of spare parts required long after complete engine production ends. Customers According to the prospectus published for the 1987 issue of shares to members of the public Rolls-Royce was by then one of only three enterprises outside USSR and China able to design develop and produce large gas turbine engines. At that time its engines were installed in the aircraft of more than 270 civil carriers and were used by 110 armed services and 700 operators of executive and corporate aircraft. In addition its turbines powered the naval vessels of 25 different nations. Over 175 industrial customers operated Rolls-Royce gas turbines for power generation, gas and oil pumping and other industrial purposes. Its single most important customer was the United Kingdom's government. In the preceding five years about 70 percent of production went outside the United Kingdom. Competition Rolls-Royce's competitors were GE and Pratt & Whitney (UTC). Aero engines were then only a part of GE and UTC activities as major industrial groups. Others included SNECMA, Turbomeca, MTU, Fiat Aviazione in Europe and USA's Avco, Garrett and General Motors' Allison. Despite the field being exceptionally competitive, a number of the smaller manufacturers were already in collaboration with GE or with other smaller manufacturers, as was Rolls-Royce as well. Divisions and products At that time Rolls-Royce was