European aerospace giant EADS NV (IW 1000/59), on the heels of its failed merger bid with Britain's BAE Systems PLC (IW 1000/158), will have a new ownership structure by 2013, a German newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Citing government sources, business daily Handelsblatt said that Germany and France each would own 12% of the company, with Spain holding 5.5%.
Private investors would hold the remaining 70.5% of the firm, which has interests in manufacturing satellites, rocket parts, helicopters and defense items, as well its main business of manufacturing airliners.
A deal laying out the future shareholder structure is expected to be finalized at the end of the month, Handelsblatt reported.
Currently, the French government and French media and defense group Lagardere hold a combined stake of 22.35%, which is matched by a 22.35% German stake held by Daimler and the KfW state bank.
Daimler has made it clear that it wants to end its involvement in the firm, according to Handelsblatt and a co-head at the Lagardere group who told analysts earlier this month that his firm "very likely" will exit EADS "in 2013."
A proposed $45 billion merger between EADS and BAE Systems collapsed last month, reportedly after opposition from Berlin.
Media reports have said that Chancellor Angela Merkel blocked the deal, as she was unwilling to allow Paris to have more influence in the company than Berlin and because EADS was unable to safeguard jobs in Germany.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012
