By Jason Chow
Plane maker Airbus Group said Friday it sold EUR794 million
($990 million) worth of shares in French defense and private jet
manufacturer Dassault Aviation back to the company and has plans to
further decrease its stake by mid-next year.
The transaction, along with plans by Dassault to cancel 9% of
treasury shares, means that Airbus has effectively reduced its
stake in Dassault to 42% from 46%.
Airbus said it plans to sell another 10% of Dassault's total
shares by the end of June 2015 through private placement deals.
Dassault will be offered to buy back half of each portion of shares
sold, up to 5% of the total number of shares.
Airbus, which is focused on making commercial planes, has been
under pressure from shareholders to sell its Dassault stake for a
long time.
In August 2013, The Children's Investment Fund Management (UK)
LLP, one of the world's largest activist investment companies,
advocated for Airbus, then known as EADS, to cash out the Dassault
stake and return the proceeds to shareholders.
Selling Dassault shares is a complicated affair for Airbus,
requiring the consent of both Dassault and the French government.
The stake in Dassault, known best for its Rafale combat fighters
and Falcon business jets, is a legacy from the company's founding
in 2000. Aerospatiale, a French state-owned company that was one of
the companies that eventually was folded into the present-day
Airbus, was previous owner of the stake.
The French government said in a statement later Friday that it
has signed a 20-year agreement with the industrial group Marcel
Dassault--the majority shareholder in Dassault Aviation--to protect
the interests of the state, particularly regarding matters of
nuclear defense. The agreement also gives the state the right of
first refusal on the sale of shares that would lead to Marcel
Dassault losing its controlling stake in Dassault Aviation.
Dassault shares rose 7.1% on Friday to close at EUR1,079. Airbus
closed down 1.6% at EUR49.
William Horobin contributed to this article.
Write to Jason Chow at jason.chow@wsj.com
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