It was looking almost inevitable today that BAE Systems would be forced to ask the UK Takeover Panel for more time to seal its controversial merger with Eads.
With shareholders rebelling and politicians also kicking up fuss, a deadline of tomorrow at 5pm to secure the deal seemed certain to be missed. Invesco Perpetual, a 13% shareholder, said yesterday it had serious reservations about the deal.
Politicians are concerned that the present structure of the deal leaves France and Germany with too large, and therefore too influential, a stake in the combined business.
The chief executives of Eads and BAE Systems will discuss the planned merger of Europe’s leading aerospace companies later on Tuesday and “decide the way forward,” an Eads spokesman said.
British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said he hoped to meet his French, German and US counterparts to discuss the proposed merger, acknowledging that time is running out.
“We always knew that there was a crunch point this Wednesday and the company has to decide today whether it’s going to ask the stock exchange for an extension of time or not,” Hammond told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels.
The Takeover Panel is thought likely to agree a two-week extension.
