Boeing not looking to buy BAE
LONDON, England (Reuters) -- U.S. plane maker Boeing says it is not interested in buying British aerospace and defense firm BAE Systems.
"I can cut to the chase real fast. We have no interest in buying BAE Systems ... We like them as partners," Chief Executive Harry Stonecipher told reporters Monday in London.
British newspapers have repeatedly speculated about a merger involving a top U.S. defense company and BAE, Europe's largest defense contractor.
Stonecipher said BAE was too vertically integrated and was involved in businesses in which Boeing had no interest.
"They are vertically integrated to the point where it's kind of contrary to what we like to do," he said.
"I don't want to be in the torpedo business, and I don't want to be in the shipbuilding business and that's a big piece of their business."
Analysts say big cost overruns on two of BAE's British defense programmes -- the Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft and the Astute attack submarine -- have dented any U.S. interest in acquiring the company.
One hurdle Boeing would face in a takeover of BAE is the UK firm's 20-percent stake in Airbus, Boeing's archival in civilian aircraft.
Stonecipher is a Boeing veteran brought out of retirement to succeed CEO Phil Condit, who resigned in December amid a probe into suspected ethics violations at the company.
On BAE, he took a harder line than his predecessor, who along with BAE executives repeatedly left the door open to the possibility of a merger.
Stonecipher was in London to announce a $50 million investment in wind tunnel operations at UK defense technology firm Qinetiq.
He was also scheduled to meet Ministry of Defence officials, who last week eliminated a Boeing consortium from a tender to provide air refueling services to the Royal Air Force over 27 years, worth some £13 billion.
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