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BAE rules out US move - for now
Lancashire defence giant BAE Systems has no plans to move to America – at least for the next three years.
Chief executive officer Mark Ronald, head of the manufacturer's US operation, said the political mood across the Atlantic was "not favourable" to any further consolidation within the defence industry.
It follows speculation the company was planning to switch its headquarters and main stock marketing listing to the States, possibly merging with a rival such as Boeing or EADS to return to the commercial plane-building market it left when it sold its 20% stake in Airbus earlier this year.
Last week, MPs in Lancashire warned the effects of any departure from county could have devastating effects on the more than 9,000 people employed by BAE in the county.
Mr Ronald said: "It would not shock me if at some point we decided to re-enter the commercial market. Could we merge with Boeing or EADS (the parent company of Airbus)? Personally I would not rule that out, but not in the foreseeable future.
"Maybe if we ended up with 80% of our business in the States, it would become a possibility, but I do not see that happening in the short term. It would require us to do a fair number of other acquisitions or one very large deal."
US accounts currently accounts for 40% of the company's 14.8 billion annual turnover and just over half of its 86,000 workforce.
Mr Ronald, who is due to retire at the end of the year, said BAE was looking to expand into the US with the acquisition of a helicopter company or a manufacturer of an airborne radar.
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Wednesday 08 February 2012
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