Aircraft firms unveil merger deal

The consolidation of the world's aerospace and defence industries took a large step forward yesterday as Aerospatiale Matra of…

The consolidation of the world's aerospace and defence industries took a large step forward yesterday as Aerospatiale Matra of France and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) of Germany unveiled an agreement to merge.

The new grouping will be Europe's largest aircraft company, owning 80 per cent of the Airbus Industrie civil aircraft consortium. With annual sales of about $22 billion (€20 billion), it will be the world's third-largest aerospace and defence company after Boeing and Lockheed Martin of the US.

Under the deal, the new group - to be called European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Company - will be 60 per cent owned by a holding company split 50/50 between French and German interests. Stock market investors will own 40 per cent.