The two teams competing for the contract to build and operate the European Union’s Galileo satellite navigation system submitted a joint bid to the Galileo Joint Undertaking (GJU) June 20.

The combined bid from the Eurely team, formed by AENA, Alcatel, Finmeccanica and Hispasat, and iNavSat, led by EADS, Inmarsat and Thales, will offer the GJU a “best value for money” approach to developing Galileo, the companies said in a statement.

The two consortia had been expected to merge their efforts after the GJU failed to meet a self-imposed March 1 deadline for selecting a winner.