The Berlin government is ready to bless the maxi merger in the defense sector from the Franco-German giant EADS and the British group Bae Systemsbut dictates some conditions. According to what was revealed today by the German newspaper Die Welt, Angela Merkel's executive “asks that the balance of power between France and Germany in the new group is respected”. But this is only one item on the "list of requests" that the Chancellor and her foreign minister have already sent to Paris.
To keep the balance unchanged, the Germans would also be ready to buy the shares held by Daimler (15%) and by the public-private consortium Dedalus (7,5%), if Paris does not want to sell its shares.
The French government directly controls 15% of the capital of EADS, to which must be added the 7,5% controlled by Lagardère. In the event of a merger, the direct stake of the French government in the new group would be 9%.
