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BAE merger deadline 'to be 'extended'
09 October 2012
The two defence and aerospace firms announced last month that they intended to explore a possible merger, but a series of concerns over national security, state shareholding and jobs have highlighted the difficulty of reaching an agreement.
The deadline is likely to be extended by 14 days in a bid to iron out concerns over the proposed merger, according to reports. Some sources report that this is a sign that there is confidence an agreement can be reached.
The French and German governments have stakes in EADS, and their possible role in the merged entity has proved controversial. The UK instead maintains a 'golden share' in BAE which allows it to block takeover bids.
Hammond is today attending a NATO meeting with his European counterparts to discuss the issues involved.
"Our position is that they will have to make a considerable reduction in their stake," he said of the French and German governments during an interview with the BBC.
"It has to be below a certain level, putting them on a par with big institutional investors who will also own significant single-digit percentage stakes in the merged group."
A report in The Financial Times claimed that 30 per cent of BAE's existing shareholders admitted to having concerns about the merger.
HAVE YOUR SAY
09 October 2012
As a taxpayer and a BAe shareholder, I cannot see how this merger benefits BAe as a company. The only benefit will be to the Board of Directors who stand to make a killing with their share options. Fat Cats getting fatter.
AW Employee - Yeovil
09 October 2012
Rather than allowing BAE to be cannibalized by EADS- with BAE's currently not-highly/un-profitable divisions substantially shrunk/closed/moved to France/Germany- wouldn't a more appropriate strategy be for BAE, the UK govt- & reps of UK aerospace business associations- to be strategizing how BAE could improve its profitability AND better balance its portfolio of sale-able products + services by:
1) acquiring;
and/or
2) establishing joint ventures, partnerships, etc
... with overseas (and UK) hi-technology/aerospace companies that have proven capabilities in non-military- IE: civilian- research and development, products and services???
Bombardier, Thales, Finmeccanica, (parts of) Hitachi, Kawasaki, Hyundai & many other global companies make better strategic fits with BAE than EADS!!
===========
If BAE wants more revenues to come from commercial/civilian- not military- aerospace ventures, why doesn't BAE just purchase 25%- 45% of EADS thereby avoiding EADS obtaining ownership of BAE through the currently proposed- misleadingly termed- 'merger' of the 2 companies??
Alternatively, why doesn't the UK govt purchase 25%- 45% of EADS- appointing BAE (or another UK firm such as Babcock or Cobham)- as its proxy re future EADS issues??
Why is the UK printing hundreds-of-billions of 'quantitative easing' money - just to bail-out previously unethical banks??
Roderick V. Louis - Vancouver, BC, Canada
09 October 2012
It seems the uk gov is determined to get rid of BAE at any price, even to losing thousands of uk jobs.
AW employee- i always thought mergers were always about the fat cats getting richer. BAE stands to becme extint in this takeover.
JC - UK
09 October 2012
The present Government will NOT acquire any sort of financial stake in the BAE/EADS "merged" company - or any other private sector business for that matter. They are not interested in who acquires control of BAE - it could be EADS, Boeing or even a multi-millionaire from Russia for all they really care. As far as Cameron & co. are concerned, ownership of UK factories is totally irrelevent, as long as British jobs are protected and the overseas owners pay their taxes. British-owned factories once used to export around the world but sadly, today it is foreign-based multinationals who rule the roost.
MikeyB - Merseyside
10 October 2012
With all of the main stream news media's reporting about BAE's alleged lack of non-defence aerospace & hi-technology products and services driving its attempted takeover by EADS (and EADS' mainly civilian products and services), there is an astonishing paucity of comment regarding:
1) BAE's existing, highly successful- globally exported- civilian products and services;
and
2) BAE's leading edge expertise in civilian products' research and development...
If EADS takes over BAE, BAE's civilian products and services would be re-branded as EADS' products and services...
As part of rationalization of the new, bigger company, manufacturing of what were previously BAE's civilian products would be at risk of being moved out of the UK: how would this benefit the United Kingdom and UK plc???
Instead of being taken over and dismembered, BAE would benefit from competent international corporate partners- and UK govt financial support- to further develop and market its civilian products and services, particularly those to do with green technologies and public/commercial transit:
http://www.hybridrive.com/history.asp :
"The BAE Systems HybriDrive® hybrid electric drive propulsion system is a leading-edge technology, but it has a proven record of past performance and excellence in service. HybriDrive® technology first entered service in Daimler Orion buses on the streets of New York City in 1998. In 2002 New York City hybrid buses equipped with BAE Systems HybriDrive® propulsion systems helped the transit authority win the Clean Air Excellence Award from the Environmental Protection Agency. This was just one of HybriDrive's subsequent hybrid awards.
"... HybriDrive® broke ground overseas in 2008, when the first HybriDrive® hybrid energy systems powered buses were delivered to London through our partnership with the UK's leading manufacturer, Alexander Dennis Ltd. That same year Isuzu announced that it would introduce electric buses with BAE Systems hybrid propulsion technology to Japan as well. And our commercial hybrid bus deliveries have continued.
"In addition to our hybrid solutions for military and commercial vehicles, BAE Systems power management capabilities and products provide solutions for the rail market – BAE Systems products equip over 8,000 locomotives in the US alone. Contact us for more information on our power management for rail and our hybrid solutions for military and commercial vehicles..."
http://www.hybridrive.com/hybrid-transit-bus.asp
Roderick V. Louis - Vancouver, BC, Canada