FILE In this file photo dated Monday July 14, 2008 visitors talk and wander around a Mantis unmanned aircraft by BAE Systems PLC during a presentation at the opening day of the Farnborough aerospace show, in Farnborough, England. Defense and aerospace companies BAE Systems PLC and EADS have hours to agree on whether to go ahead with a proposed merger that has faced opposition from Britain, France and Germany. British-based defence contractor BAE Systems and Franco-German EADS, the parent of Airbus, must reach an agreement before 1600 GMT Wednesday Oct. 10, 2012 on whether they would ask regulators for more time to finalize their plans, or abandon the deal. The proposed mega-merger, which would create a global aerospace and defense company, has been fraught with difficulties because of political objections from governments in the U.K., France and Germany. The governments, which have stakes in the companies, have fought over control of the proposed merger. All three countries must approve the deal for it to go ahead. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
FILE In this file photo dated Monday July 14, 2008 visitors talk and wander around a Mantis unmanned aircraft by BAE Systems PLC during a presentation at the opening day of the Farnborough aerospace show, in Farnborough, England. Defense and aerospace companies BAE Systems PLC and EADS have hours to agree on whether to go ahead with a proposed merger that has faced opposition from Britain, France and Germany. British-based defence contractor BAE Systems and Franco-German EADS, the parent of Airbus, must reach an agreement before 1600 GMT Wednesday Oct. 10, 2012 on whether they would ask regulators for more time to finalize their plans, or abandon the deal. The proposed mega-merger, which would create a global aerospace and defense company, has been fraught with difficulties because of political objections from governments in the U.K., France and Germany. The governments, which have stakes in the companies, have fought over control of the proposed merger. All three countries must approve the deal for it to go ahead. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
FILE In this file photo dated June 8, 2007, the first Astute class nuclear submarine is rolled out at the BAE Systems production plant in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. (AP Photo/Scott Heppell)
LONDON (AP) ? British defense contractor BAE Systems PLC and its European counterpart EADS NV on Wednesday abandoned a proposed merger that would have created a global defense and aerospace giant.
The companies said they "decided to terminate their discussions" over the proposed merger because of conflicting interests between the British, French and German governments.
"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," the companies said in a statement.
The proposed merger with EADS, the parent of Airbus, would have created a global aerospace and defense company that would leapfrog U.S.-based Boeing Co.
The heads of both companies expressed disappointment at the outcome.
"It is, of course, a pity we didn't succeed but I'm glad we tried," said EADS chief executive Tom Enders.
"We are obviously disappointed that we were unable to reach an acceptable agreement with our various government stakeholders. 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, defense and security group," BAE chief Ian King said.
The companies faced a Wednesday deadline on whether to go ahead with the merger, ask for more time or call it off.
From the start, the deal had been fraught with difficulties because of political objections from the governments of the U.K., France and Germany. All three must approve the deal for it to go ahead.
France is the only government that owns a direct stake in either of the two companies, but Germany has long held sway in EADS via shares held by automaker Daimler and private and public banks. Berlin was arguing for a slice of its own in the new company in order to maintain that historic role.
But Britain and the companies' executives were wary about handing out too many shares to governments. If the new entity was perceived as state-owned, it could affect its ability to vie for contracts in the U.S. and Asia, EADS CEO Tom Enders told the German newspaper Bild in an interview that the company posted on its website.
EADS shares jumped on the news that the merger was off, trading 3.7 percent higher in early afternoon in Paris. BAE shares recovered earlier losses to trade flat.
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