Tensions grow in arms firm merger talks
EADS and BAE Systems battled to rescue their $45bn (£28bn) merger plan from a barrage of competing interests as governments and shareholders staked out positions in tense negotiations to try to forge the world’s largest arms firm.
Arnaud Lagardere, the leading French industrial shareholder of Airbus parent EADS, threw an unexpected spanner into the plans by demanding the financial terms be reviewed, setting off a frenzy of briefings and counter-briefings from all sides.
The comments increased pressure on EADS chief executive Tom Enders and BAE Systems counterpart Ian King hours after they urged investors to back the deal, which has become mired in demands from European governments and volatile share prices.