Bluezoo
05-14-2005, 06:26 PM
Crisis at EADS Could Threaten Operations: Analysts
By EMMANUEL ANGLEYS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, PARIS
With Franco-German trench warfare at EADS over subsidiary Airbus blocking the creation of a new power structure, analysts warned May 12 that the leadership impasse could disrupt day-to-day operations.
The drama unfolded May 11 when the board of directors of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company unexpectedly failed at the company’s annual general meeting to officially name Noel Forgeard — currently chief at Airbus — and Thomas Enders as its new co-CEOs.
The decision was delayed until June 1.
Forgeard of France and Enders, the German head of the defense division at EADS, had been set to replace co-CEOs Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich during the meeting.
Forgeard and Enders are now to stay in their positions while EADS co-chairmen Arnaud Lagardere and Manfred Bischoff have taken up the dual CEO roles at EADS.
The freeze at the top of the European giant comes at a sensitive time for the French government, which is facing stiff opposition to its “yes” campaign in an upcoming French referendum on the ratification of a new European Union constitution.
Government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope said the decision to postpone the nomination of new directors for EADS was not linked to the May 29 referendum.
“A first step has been taken with the renewal of the EADS board of directors,” Cope said after a weekly cabinet meeting.
Asked whether the delay had sent “a bad signal” on Franco-German cooperation before the referendum, he replied: “No, in no way.”
A source close to the situation indicated it was German shareholders who had dug in their heels over maintaining the delicate dual balance of the EADS power structure.
“What’s blocking (the EADS decision) is that the Germans are demanding that Noel Forgeard resign from Airbus before being named to the EADS co-CEO post,” the source said.
The German shareholders, who hold a 30 percent stake, as do French shareholders, object to Forgeard holding both posts, even if just temporarily.
“I am ruling out this solution,” EADS co-chairman Manfred Bischoff told the German newspaper Handeslblatt, on the sidelines of the meeting May 11 in Amsterdam, where EADS is headquartered.
If the CEO post at Airbus were vacated, the current management could ensure the aircraft maker’s operations on a temporary basis, Bischoff said.
An analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Noel Forgeard wants to keep control of Airbus but the Germans don’t want him to.”
The nomination of Forgeard in December to co-head EADS, under strong French pressure, left a bitter taste with the Germans. That was only exacerbated by Forgeard’s suggestion that EADS scrap its dual-CEO system in favor of a single head, and link up with French defense electronics firm Thales.
Shares in EADS finished 0.54 percent higher, at 22.19 euros, in Paris trading, while the CAC 40 index added 0.91 percent, at 4,015.65 points.
Analysts said the EADS share had benefited from the euro’s decline against the dollar, but voiced concern about what the impasse means for the company’s future.
“This lack of executive direction at the most profitable branches seems to us more and more troubling and strongly overshadows our positive message,” Agnes Blazy, an analyst at CM-CIC, wrote in a note to clients.
An analyst at CA Cheuvreux echoed the gloom....
For the full text, go to:
http://defensenews.com/story.php?F=846236&C=europe
By EMMANUEL ANGLEYS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, PARIS
With Franco-German trench warfare at EADS over subsidiary Airbus blocking the creation of a new power structure, analysts warned May 12 that the leadership impasse could disrupt day-to-day operations.
The drama unfolded May 11 when the board of directors of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company unexpectedly failed at the company’s annual general meeting to officially name Noel Forgeard — currently chief at Airbus — and Thomas Enders as its new co-CEOs.
The decision was delayed until June 1.
Forgeard of France and Enders, the German head of the defense division at EADS, had been set to replace co-CEOs Philippe Camus and Rainer Hertrich during the meeting.
Forgeard and Enders are now to stay in their positions while EADS co-chairmen Arnaud Lagardere and Manfred Bischoff have taken up the dual CEO roles at EADS.
The freeze at the top of the European giant comes at a sensitive time for the French government, which is facing stiff opposition to its “yes” campaign in an upcoming French referendum on the ratification of a new European Union constitution.
Government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope said the decision to postpone the nomination of new directors for EADS was not linked to the May 29 referendum.
“A first step has been taken with the renewal of the EADS board of directors,” Cope said after a weekly cabinet meeting.
Asked whether the delay had sent “a bad signal” on Franco-German cooperation before the referendum, he replied: “No, in no way.”
A source close to the situation indicated it was German shareholders who had dug in their heels over maintaining the delicate dual balance of the EADS power structure.
“What’s blocking (the EADS decision) is that the Germans are demanding that Noel Forgeard resign from Airbus before being named to the EADS co-CEO post,” the source said.
The German shareholders, who hold a 30 percent stake, as do French shareholders, object to Forgeard holding both posts, even if just temporarily.
“I am ruling out this solution,” EADS co-chairman Manfred Bischoff told the German newspaper Handeslblatt, on the sidelines of the meeting May 11 in Amsterdam, where EADS is headquartered.
If the CEO post at Airbus were vacated, the current management could ensure the aircraft maker’s operations on a temporary basis, Bischoff said.
An analyst, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: “Noel Forgeard wants to keep control of Airbus but the Germans don’t want him to.”
The nomination of Forgeard in December to co-head EADS, under strong French pressure, left a bitter taste with the Germans. That was only exacerbated by Forgeard’s suggestion that EADS scrap its dual-CEO system in favor of a single head, and link up with French defense electronics firm Thales.
Shares in EADS finished 0.54 percent higher, at 22.19 euros, in Paris trading, while the CAC 40 index added 0.91 percent, at 4,015.65 points.
Analysts said the EADS share had benefited from the euro’s decline against the dollar, but voiced concern about what the impasse means for the company’s future.
“This lack of executive direction at the most profitable branches seems to us more and more troubling and strongly overshadows our positive message,” Agnes Blazy, an analyst at CM-CIC, wrote in a note to clients.
An analyst at CA Cheuvreux echoed the gloom....
For the full text, go to:
http://defensenews.com/story.php?F=846236&C=europe