BAE Systems set to sell Airbus stake

LONDON - Europe's largest defence company, BAE Systems, wants to sell its 20 per cent stake in Airbus to EADS, which could give it as much as US$4.5 billion ($7.5 billion) for acquisitions in the United States.

"Discussions are at an early stage and a further announcement will be made if and when appropriate," it said at the weekend.

EADS, the Franco-German-Spanish firm that owns the remaining 80 per cent of Airbus, welcomed the BAE move, which it said it had been expecting.

Airbus is the world's biggest plane-maker, outselling US rival Boeing, and set to begin deliveries of the 555-seat A380 double-decker late this year.

"We believe it is the right time for us to divest our Airbus shareholding to allow us to concentrate on our core transatlantic defence and aerospace strategy," said BAE chief executive Mike Turner.

The stake is valued at €3.5 billion ($7 billion) in EADS' books but analysts expect any sale to be worth between £3 billion ($8.5 billion) and £4.5 billion, buoyed in part by the high level of EADS and BAE share prices.

Sector analysts have said BAE was expected to sell its stake in Airbus at some stage, likely spending the proceeds in the US defence sector.

"Disposal of Airbus [and BAE's remaining European interests] could clear the way for a major US merger," Numis Securities analyst Andrew Gollan said in a research note.

- REUTERS