EADS and BAE merger held back as Lagardere disputes deal

The merger between defence giant BAE Systems and EADS has met with another obstacle as key shareholder in the latter business Lagardere has rebutted claims the deal would not benefit French shareholders.

Bosses of both organisations stated the amalgamation of the companies would create a firm that was greater than the sum of its parts, but the French media company disputes this.

"Despite the industrial and strategic potential attributed to it, this plan has not yet demonstrated that it was creating value for EADS," Lagardere said.

Therefore, it has called for a review into the merger, in order to safeguard the French shareholders.

BAE Systems and EADS are also under increased pressure to give a guarantee to the British government that it will create jobs in the UK in return for its support.

At 15:45 BST today (October 1st), BAE Systems was 0.9 per cent higher on the London Stock Exchange to 328.20p per share, while EADS gained 1.1 per cent on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to €24.96.

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