Airbus Strife May Be Opportunity To Take Greater Control
Just as Russian carrier
Aeroflot announced it will all-but-certainly sign with
Airbus to replace several aging Cold
War-era airliners in its fleet, Russian President Vladimir
Putin made comments indicating he would like a larger stake in
Airbus parent company EADS.
According to Forbes, several statements made by the Russian
president appear to contradict Putin's earlier assertions he has no
intention of forcibly increasing Russia's stake in the European
aerospace consortium, beyond the five percent stake now held by
state-owned lender OAO Vneshtorgbank.
On Wednesday, Putin told France's foreign and defense ministers
he was interested in a greater stake in EADS, after all -- saying
such "meaningful cooperation would be interesting and useful not
only for Russian producers but for their European partners."
The larger acquisition would be "in no way a step in the
direction of an unfriendly acquisition," Putin continued, adding
"This purchase is not a hostile takeover. We are ready for
constructive interaction and we would like the companies to reach
an agreement [on further cooperation]."
RIA Novosti added, however, that if Russia can't reach
agreements with other shareholders, Putin would direct Russian
financial institutions to purchase the needed shares on the common
market.
Arran Aerospace analyst Doug McVitie told Forbes Putin may not
necessarily be trying to assert control over the European aerospace
industry... but may merely be trying to gain a larger stake in
EADS, while the getting's good.
"There's also the fact that Putin still probably thinks Russia
has a role to play in EADS, and now's the time to try for it while
they're in even more disarray than usual," said McVitie -- speaking
of EADS current financial woes, and seeming chaos stemming from the
postponement of an Airbus restructuring plan this week.
Putin appears to be seeking aerospace ties, McVitie said, in an
attempt to diversify Russia's state-held investments away from oil
and gas interests.
But, the analyst added, French and German officials will likely
not agree Putin's motives are altruistic.
"[German Chancellor Angela] Merkel and [French President
Jacques] Chirac would be against Russia increasing its take in EADS
not only because they have their plates full already dealing with
Airbus, but because the potential Russian funds come with strings
attached," he said.
"Russia wants to participate, not just be a shareholder.
Contrast this with Qatar, which is thinking of just letting its
money do the talking without any desire to interfere."