BAE-EADS Merger Off

BAE Systems and EADS today announced the termination of their merger talks. In a joint statement, the companies argued the proposed merger was “based on a sound industrial logic and represented an opportunity to create a combination from two strong and successful companies greater than the sum of the parts.” The companies said the merger would have created “a greater force for competition and growth across both the commercial aerospace and defence sectors and which would have delivered tangible benefits to all stakeholders.”

However, the statement added, the “interests of the parties' government stakeholders cannot be adequately reconciled with each other or with the objectives that BAE Systems and EADS established for the merger."

Ian King, chief executive of BAE Systems, and Tom Enders, chief executive of EADS, expressed their disappointment with the outcome of the merger talks.