British defence and aerospace giant BAE Systems said on Friday it was holding negotiations on the sale of its 20% stake in aircraft maker Airbus to Franco-German counterpart EADS.
“BAE Systems today announces that it has entered into discussions with EADS regarding the sale of its 20% shareholding in Airbus,” the group said in an official statement to the London Stock Exchange.
“Discussions are at an early stage and a further announcement will be made if and when appropriate.”
The announcement followed a report on British BBC radio late on Thursday on the sale, which would hand EADS full control of Airbus.
The news also prompted union leaders to seek urgent talks with BAE because Airbus directly employs about 13 000 people in Britain.
The BBC said the sale meant the end of British ownership of Airbus manufacturing sites in north Wales and near Bristol, western England.
EADS, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, which has an 80% stake in Airbus, is Europe’s leading aeronautic industrial group.
BAE’s announcement followed news this week that two other major EADS shareholders, German-US automaker DaimlerChrysler and French defence and media group Lagardere, were to cut their holdings substantially.
EADS was earlier this week sidelined from a major deal that catapulted French defence electronics group Thales to international stature in the satellite business on the strength of an alliance with telecom equipment maker Alcatel.
BAE Systems had until now maintained it had no interest in selling its stake in Airbus. But, according to British press reports, it had now determined that the time had come to dispose of its holding.
EADS recently valued the BAE stake in Airbus at €3,5-billion. But investment bank Goldman Sachs has said BAE could refuse to sell its share for anything less than €6,5-billion.
The Financial Times newspaper said the sale would enable BAE to finance acquisitions in the United States, even though the group recently denied reports that it wanted to purchase US defence electronics specialist L3 Communications.
The newspaper argued that the sale could prove embarrassing for the British government, which has committed hundreds of millions of pounds to Airbus.
The paper added that the transaction could also threaten the jobs held by 13 000 British employees of Airbus. – AFP