BAE shareholder Invesco opposes merger
BAE’s largest shareholder Invesco has issued a long list of objections to the £30bn tie-up with EADS.
Invesco, which owns 13.3 per cent of BAE, has a number of reservations regarding the merger, including concerns about state involvement, merger terms and its strategic rationale.
Invesco said this morning that it doesn’t “understand the strategic logic for the proposed combination” and that the merger would “materially jeopardise BAE’s unique and privileged position in the US defence market”.
The asset manager added that BAE as a business “can deliver significant standalone upside value for its existing shareholders”, and that it is a “strong business with distinctive positions in the global defence market and good standalone prospects”.
It will raise its reservations with other BAE shareholders and the board of the defence company in the coming days.