Defence giant BAE Systems has confirmed that plans for a £28billion merger with its French rival EADS have been scrapped.
The deal would have created a defence titan with combined sales of £60billion and more than 220,000 staff, with around 52,000 employees in the UK.
BAE said it had become clear that the interests of government stakeholders - including those in France and Germany - could not be reconciled with each other or with the company’s objectives.
Unions believed the link-up would have created a strong company to guarantee jobs in the long term.
BAE chief executive Ian King said the British business remained “strong and financially robust”.
He said: “We are obviously disappointed that we were unable to reach an acceptable agreement with our various government stakeholders.”
More to follow.
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