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October 12, 2006
"I'm not ruling anything out at present," Merkel said in response to speculation the German government would acquire a direct stake in EADS. "The necessary decisions would be made "so that the German commitment to Airbus and to EADS, as was the case in the past, would also be clear in the future," she said, at the end of a Franco-German ministerial meeting.
"The most important thing is that we get long-term reliable investors who feel bound to the project," she added.
Airbus delays in delivering its A380 super jumbo have catapulted EADS into the worst crisis in the company's history. The problems are expected to cost the firm billions, and have led it to draft plans for massive restructuring that could result in lay-offs or factory closures.
Hamburg Mayor Ole von Beust, who has a big Airbus plant based in his city, had said earlier Thursday that Merkel and the rest of her government had decided Germany would buy shares in EADS that DaimlerChrysler has said it would like to part with.
Jumping the gun
"It's certain that the shares will be bought. But the arrangements ... are still being drawn up," von Beust told a news conference held with new Airbus chief executive Louis Gallois.
DaimlerChrysler owns 22.5 percent of EADS and has said it wants to reduce its stake to 15 percent. A spokesman said the company would only sell the shares in accord with the German government, Reuters reported.
The French state holds 15 percent of the shares in EADS. The French media group Lagardere owns 15 percent but is reportedly set to sell half.
Merkel said participation in EADS by the Russian state was not on the agenda, though the state-owned bank Vneshtorgbank acquired a 5.02 percent stake in September and Kremlin officials signaled that Russia could seek influence as a minority shareholder.