Following the announcements made by BAE Systems and EADS on 12 September 2012 in relation to a possible combination of their businesses through a dual listed company structure, Although a great deal of constructive and professional engagement with the respective governments over recent weeks, it has become clear that the interests of the parties' government stakeholders cannot be adequately reconciled with each other or with the objectives that BAE Systems and EADS established for the merger. BAE Systems and EADS have therefore decided it is in the best interests of their companies and shareholders to terminate the discussions and to continue to focus on delivering their respective strategies. “We are obviously disappointed that we were unable to reach an acceptable agreement with our various government stakeholders,” stated BAE Systems' CEO, Ian King. “We believe the merger presented a unique opportunity for BAE Systems and EADS to combine two world class and complementary businesses to create a world leading aerospace, defence and security group.” Tom Enders, CEO of EADS, added: “I'd like to thank everybody who supported us, in particular all the colleagues at BAE Systems and EADS for all their hard work and dedication to this project in recent months. A special thank-you goes to Ian King for his trust and partnership. It is, of course, a pity we didn't succeed but I'm glad we tried. I'm sure there will be other challenges we'll tackle together in the future. EADS will continue on its international growth path and our shareholders can continue to expect profitable growth, excellent liquidity and programme execution based on a strong order book.” www.baesystems.com www.eads.com
