Thomson Marconi Sonar or TMS was formed in 1996 by the merger of the sonar systems businesses of French defence electronics specialist Thomson-CSF and British company GEC-Marconi after the payment of a balance by the latter.[1] The new company was 50.1% owned by Thomson-CSF and 49.9% by GEC-Marconi.[1] Denis Ranque was appointed as its CEO. The new company would head 3 operational entities:
With the merger of GEC's defence business Marconi Electronic Systems and British Aerospace in 1999, the resulting BAE Systems acquired Marconi's 49.9% share in TMS. BAE, through an options agreement, forced Thomson-CSF (now Thales) to purchase its stake in 2001. The company therefore became entirely owned by Thales and was renamed Thales Underwater Systems.