Argonaut's Norris: BAE merger collapse a victory for common sense

Barry Norris, founding partner and chief investment officer at Argonaut Capital Partners, has said the collapse of the BAE/EADS merger today is a "triumph for common sense."

Norris, a shareholder in EADS, said the decision to scrap the merger of the two defence giants was great news for shareholders who had faced the prospect of a long battle with both boards. "Today's decision to terminate the merger talks is a triumph for common sense and shareholder value," he said. "Having sunk almost €30bn into new Airbus plane projects, which are only now beginning to break even, it made no sense for EADS to now share this with BAE shareholders. "There was also little logic in combining the defence assets of both companies without significant cost and revenue syn...