Daimler-Benz Aerospace and British Aerospace P.L.C. aim to combine early next year into a military contractor that could include other European arms suppliers, a spokesman for the German company said today.
The combination would be an initial step in creating a multinational European defense and aerospace company that would eventually include Aerospatiale of France and others.
The Financial Times reported today that a merger of the German and British companies would probably be effected through the creation of a holding company based in the Netherlands for tax reasons.
The spokesman for Daimler-Benz Aerospace, Rainer Ohler, said today that the company was discussing with ''all European partners'' its interest in joining a pan-European company.
Driving the reorganization effort by the European defense industry is fear that American rivals, led by the Boeing Company and the Lockheed Martin Corporation, will use their lean cost structures and massive research budgets to beat European companies for contracts. British Aerospace and Daimler-Benz Aerospace, a unit of Daimler-Benz A.G., had combined sales of $21 billion last year, less than Boeing's $45.8 billion and Lockheed Martin's $28.1 billion.
A brief report by Bloomberg News in Business Day yesterday about a merger plan by Daimler-Benz Aerospace and British Aerospace misstated the proposed completion date, and the headline referred incorrectly to the status of the plan. The companies said they intended to merge as soon as possible, not necessarily early next year. The plan remains under discussion; it has not been confirmed.