Top BAE shareholder opposes EADS deal

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LONDON, Oct. 9 (UPI) -- BAE Systems' largest shareholder, Invesco Perpetual, expressed concerned about a possible deal with EADS.

Invesco Perpetual owns more than 13 percent of BAE's outstanding stock. Invesco Perpetual officials said they are concerned about the possible effect that the $45 billion transaction could have on shareholder value.

In 2011 Invesco Perpetual UK equities head Neil Woodford warned BAE Chairman Dick Olver that the company's "unacceptable" focus on arranging contracts was responsible for the low rating of its shares.

Woodford decided to express his concerns in public after stating his anxieties about expressing its concerns about the proposed EADS deal to BAE Chief Executive Officer Ian King a month ago, The Irish Times reported.

Invesco Perpetual public statements of the firm's concerns come at a critical moment for the proposed EADS transaction, as the British, French and German governments are still debating the political safeguards they would require before giving the arrangement their approval.