Aerospace and defence giants BAE Systems of the UK and Airbus’s European parent EADS this afternoon called off their planned mega-merger.
The deal would have given around 6,000 West engineers a new employer but this afternoon directors of the two huge scrapped the merger after weeks of discussions ahead of a 5pm deadline.
The German government effectively pulled the plug on the deal on fears over job losses.
Politicians had been grappling with the complexities of state shareholdings with three-way discussions between the U
K, France and Germany. All three countries were seeking different assurances over political interference, jobs and workshare. UK politicians are also concerned that European control could impact on BAE's lucrative defence contracts in the US.
The boards of BAE and EADS had this morning bee locked in last-ditch meetings to weave a path through the politics and rescue the deal. But in the face of German government disapproval of the deal they called it off.
