Editing British Aerospace (section)

===Transition to BAE Systems===
In the late 1990s, European defence consolidation became a prevailing practice; European governments wished to see the merger of their defence manufacturers into a single entity, a European Aerospace and Defence Company.<ref>{{cite news|title=Business: The Company File: Defense merger on the radar |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/the_company_file/130305.stm |work=BBC News |date=10 July 1998 |access-date=15 September 2007}}</ref> This ambition led to numerous reports linking various European defence groups – mainly with each other but also with American defence contractors. In July 1998, merger discussions began between BAe and DASA.<ref>{{cite news|title=BAe and Dasa discuss proposals for merger: Aerospace groups still have 'important issues to resolve'|work=Financial Times |page=1 |date=24 July 1998}}</ref> Terms for such a merger had been reportedly agreed between British Aerospace Chairman [[Richard Evans (businessman)|Richard Evans]] and DASA CEO [[Jürgen E. Schrempp|Jürgen Schrempp]] in December 1998.<ref name="ftBAeDASA">{{cite news |first=Peter |last=Spiegel|title=The largest aerospace companies gather next week for the Farnborough air show but the event will be without its long-time unofficial host|work=Financial Times|page=11|date=17 July 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Spiegel |first =Peter |title=End of an era at BAE: how Sir Richard Evans changed the UK defence industry |newspaper=Financial Times |date =17 July 2004}}</ref> However, when the British [[General Electric Company plc|General Electric Company]] (GEC) put its defence electronics business [[Marconi Electronic Systems]] (MES) up for sale on 22 December 1998, BAe's management opted to abandon the DASA merger in favour of purchasing its British rival.<ref>BAE Systems Annual Report 1999 22. BAE Systems plc (2000). Retrieved on 27 October 2006.</ref><ref name="scotsman2000">{{cite news|first=Andrew|last=Turpin|title=BAE eyes US targets after profit rockets|work=The Scotsman|publisher=The Scotsman Publications|page=26|date = 4 March 2000}}</ref> During 2004, Evans stated that his fear was that an American defence contractor would acquire MES and challenge both British Aerospace and DASA.<ref name="ftBAeDASA" />

Schrempp was angered by BAe's reversal, and opted to pursue other partner companies for DASA to merge with. On 11 June 1999, the Spanish aircraft company [[CASA (aircraft manufacturer)|CASA]] signed a memorandum of understanding for such a merger.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=White|author2=Nicoll, Alexander |title=DaimlerChrysler wins fight for Spain's Casa: Deal boosts aerospace industry consolidation in Europe|work=Financial Times|date=1999-06-12}}</ref> On 14 October 1999, DASA agreed to merge with Aérospatiale-Matra to create the [[European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company]] (EADS).<ref>{{cite news |first=Alexander |last=Nicoll |author2=Skapiner, Michael |title=Flying in formation: The merger of DaimlerChrysler Aerospace and Aérospatiale-Matra may pave the way for a larger European grouping or the first transatlantic defence tie-up, argue Alexander Nicoll and Michael Skapinker |work=Financial Times|date=1999-10-15}}</ref> 10 July 2000 was "day one" for the new company, which became the world's second-largest aerospace company after [[Boeing]] and the second-largest European [[arms industry|arms manufacturer]] after BAE Systems.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eads.eu/1024/en/eads/history/chronos/2000.html |title=History of EADS |publisher=EADS |access-date=2009-10-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080603121737/http://www.eads.eu/1024/en/eads/history/chronos/2000.html |archive-date=3 June 2008 }}</ref>

The GEC merger to create a solely British company, compared to the prospective Anglo-German company that would have resulted from merging with DASA, was promoted as having superior prospects for further penetration of the lucrative defence market of the United States. The newly combined company, which was initially referred to as "New British Aerospace", was officially formed on 30 November 1999; it is named [[BAE Systems]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/1999/jan/19/7 |title=BAe set to sign A8bn GEC deal with merger |work=The Guardian |date=19 January 1999}}</ref>