Non-Subscriber Extract
BAE Systems' option compels EADS to buy Airbus stake
- Article Tools
| 08 June 2006 |
By Guy Anderson, JDIN Editor and Ben Vogel, Janes.com Editor
BAE Systems will compel EADS to buy its 20 per cent stake in Airbus, having formally exercised its put option on 7 June.
The option was exercised 24 hours before the annual window of opportunity for what BAE Systems described as a 'complicated process' closed on 8 June. Following this move, the two parties are expected to appoint independent advisers with a view to arriving at an agreed valuation.
The 20 per cent stake was previously valued at EUR3.5 billion (USD4.5 billion) by EADS, which first indicated that it was interested in taking 100 per cent ownership of Airbus in March. BAE Systems - which previously described the decision to sell as 'unanimous' on the part of its board - is almost certain to push for a higher valuation, given the strategic value of the holding.
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