The proposed £30 billion merger between BAE and Eads hit a major roadblock today as a key French shareholder said the terms of the deal were “unsatisfactory” and called on the European aerospace giant to re-examine the project.
A spokesman for Lagardère, the conglomerate that owns 7.5% of Eads, said: “Despite the industrial and strategic potential attributed to it, this plan has not yet demonstrated that it was creating value for Eads.
“Lagardère considers that the merger conditions are currently unsatisfactory. Lagardère calls on the management of Eads to undertake, without delay, the indispensable re-examination of the project to combine Eads and BAE, to better take into account the interest of all the French controlling shareholders of Eads.”
BAE and Eads plan to create the world’s biggest aerospace and defence group, merging the Airbus planemaker with Europe’s largest defence company.
The heads of both companies sought to reassure investors in a joint newspaper article published in the UK, France and Germany today, amid what they described as “myths and misconceptions” about the transaction.
“This is a combination borne out of opportunity, not necessity. BAE Systems and Eads are both strong businesses with clearly defined strategies that have enabled them to make progress in the last five years, and which would take them forward as independent companies,” the article said.
