Airbus starts to sell down Dassault stake

Airbus has begun its long-awaited disengagement from Dassault Aviation, by selling nearly one-fifth of its 46.3 per cent stake in the fighter jet maker back to the group's controlling family for €794m.

"This transaction marks an important step in our stated intention to monetise our stake in Dassault Aviation," said Marwan Lahoud, Airbus head of strategy, after the group announced the sale of an 8 per cent holding on Friday.

Airbus added that it would aim to sell a further 10 per cent of Dassault before June next year through a series of placements, in which the Dassault be given the option to acquire 50 per cent of the shares on offer.

Airbus, a partner in the Eurofighter consortium, and Dassault, maker of the rival Rafale combat jet, have spent 16 years as uneasy bedfellows, in a partnership that was originally designed to protect the French state's interests in a strategically important company.

However, as direct government influence over Airbus has waned, the European aircraft maker has been able to respond to pressure from other shareholders to shed the stake. Earlier this year, it declared its Dassault holding as no longer "strategic".

As part of the disposal announced yesterday, Dassault will also cancel 9 per cent of its treasury shares, to leave Airbus with a 42 per cent stake.

As for the balance, Airbus said it retained flexibility over the timing of any disposals - pledging only its "best efforts" to sell a further 10 per cent stake by June 30 next year. But a Reuters report earlier this week suggested that both Dassault and Airbus wanted the entire stake sold by the end of 2015.

Many in the aerospace industry expect Airbus's withdrawal from Dassault to trigger consolidation in the French defence industry. Some have speculated that a three-way deal may be possible, between Dassault, Thales - the defence electronics group in which it holds a 25.3 per cent stake - and Safran, the jet engine maker in which the French government is also a large shareholder.

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