A lot of the noise in the proposed €38bn merger between BAE Systemsand EADSis that it is all about the defence industry. That is a mistake. The jewel in this combination would be Airbus. Over 40 years it has come from nowhere to rival Boeingin commercial aeroplanes. Airbus accounted for two-thirds of EADS’s first-half 2012 revenues of €25bn, and half of its earnings before interest and tax. It has an order book of €500bn and net cash of €10bn. Why would a business riding an upswing in civilian aircraft wish to merge with an ex-growth defence company?
英國BAE系統公司(BAE Systems)與歐洲宇航防務集團(EADS)擬議的380億歐元合并案引起了熱議，完全是因為它涉及到防務領域。這種觀點是錯誤的。空客(Airbus)才將是合并后企業里最璀璨的寶石。40年來，空客從無到有，發展成為一家在商用飛機領域可與波音(Boeing)匹敵的企業。今年上半年EADS創下250億歐元收入，空客占到其中的三分之二，對全集團息稅前利潤的貢獻率也達到50%。空客的訂單金額為5000億歐元，凈現金為100億歐元。一家在民用飛機領域蒸蒸日上的企業會是否愿意與一家增長乏力的防務企業合并呢？