The German government and Daimlerchrysler have found a solution to the issue of whether the state will take a stake in European aerospace group EADS, it was reported today.
Citing unidentified German government sources, German magazine WirtschaftsWochesaid Berlin would not now take a direct EADS stake via state-owned investment bank Kfw but would take on an indirect share of a privately led investment consortium.
The government's indirect share would be held by some of Germany's state-owned Landesbanken and the Kfw, the magazine reported.
Daimlerchrysler unit Dasa, which holds the parent company's 22.5 per cent stake in EADS, would issue a convertible bond that could be worth as much as 49 per cent of its value, the report said.
The bond would be sold to the private consortium, and Dasa would pay out the revenue from the sale to its shareholders, which as well as Daimlerchrysler include the city state of Hamburg, the Dornier family and the Messerschmitt Foundation.