Teledyne in Talks With Honda on Joint Venture

Honda Motor Co., which this week announced a partnership with General Electric Co. on jet aircraft engines, is considering forming a joint venture with Los Angeles-based Teledyne Technologies Inc. to make propeller plane engines.

The Nihon Keizai newspaper said Honda and Teledyne were in final negotiations on a 50-50 venture in the U.S. to build propeller engines for small planes.

Honda called the report “speculative.” Talks with Teledyne, which began in March, “are ongoing,” Honda spokesman Jeffrey Smith said.

The automaker and Teledyne’s Teledyne Continental Motors unit have said they’re looking for ways to market, service and build lightweight, fuel-efficient piston engines for small aircraft. The companies began testing Honda’s four-cylinder piston engine in 2000 at a Teledyne facility in Alabama.

From Bloomberg News