Lagardere to examine BAE-EADS agreements

Lagardere to examine BAE-EADS agreementsFrance's Lagardere, which owns a 7.5 percent stake in the European aerospace and defence company EADS, has said that it will look into the agreements between EADS and British firm BAE before approving a deal.

EADS, which operates plane-maker Airbus, is planning to tip with BAE Systems to create an industry leader that will surpass rival Boeing of the US. Analysts have said that any deal between BAE and EADS will allow Lagardere to reduce its stake and enable it to return a large chunk of the proceeds to shareholders.

Lagardere said in a statement that, "The Lagardere group intends to ensure that all consequences associated with the proposed EADS NV - BAE Systems Plc merger are taken into consideration in determining the terms and conditions of the proposed transaction before it consents to the deal."

Lagardere owns 7.5 percent, French state owns 7.5 percent and German carmaker Daimler holds 15 percent stake in EADS. Lagardere has been planning to sell its 7.5 percent stake in the company but it has not been able to do the because of the requirement to maintain a balance between French and German among ownership of shareholders of EADS.