Airbus may merge with parent EADS

PARIS: French finance minister Thierry Breton and the private shareholders of EADS want the European aerospace group to get tighter control over its Airbus unit, hit by delivery delays, Le Figaro reported on Wednesday. A merger between the two could be one scenario, the paper said.

“This unit, which represents 65% of the revenue and over 80% of the profits of EADS, could merge with its parent company,” the French daily said, without citing any sources. The finance ministry could not be immediately reached for comment, while media group Lagardere, which owns 7.5% of EADS, declined to comment.

Thierry Breton told parliament on Tuesday that he had discussed with Arnaud Lagardere changes to a shareholder pact in Airbus parent EADS. Breton added that the government had asked both the management of EADS and Airbus to deal with the A380 delays crisis, which caused an EADS share price collapse last week. The French government owns 15% of EADS.