EADS and BAE Systems Merger Talks Hit Rough Patch PARIS - Britain, France and Germany failed on Friday to reach an agreement on the proposed $45 billion merger of the European aerospace groups EADS and BAE Systems, people close to the negotiations said. But the three governments are expected to continue talking in the coming days, with an eye to resolving how to preserve their interests in the companies, as well as the balance of jobs and industrial expertise in their respective countries, if the merger plan proceeds. A German government spokesman declined to comment late Friday on German media reports that the negotiations were on the verge of collapse. But British and French officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed the reports as speculation. The companies said the talks had stalled but denied that the merger plan was dead. "In no way have we been told that the deal is off," EADS, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company, said in a statement. Talks among the three countries intensified this week ahead of a Wednesday deadline imposed by British market regulators for the two companies to announce a final agreement or seek an extension to continue negotiations. But the governments remain divided over the best way to balance state interests in the merged company, either through direct ownership of shares or through the granting of special voting rights to the governments, said the people close to the negotiations, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were continuing. France is standing firm on its insistence that it retain a direct stake in the merged group of no more than 9 percent, reflecting the value of its existing 15 percent stake in EADS, these people said. Germany, which holds no shares in EADS, has proposed acquiring a 9 percent stake to balance the French holding. Currently, German interests in EADS are represented by the automaker Daimler and a consortium of private and public banks. Britain, which owns no shares in BAE but can veto any merger, has accepted that the French cannot be forced to sell their stake. But London is worried that a German investment would put too much of the company in government hands and limit its ability to secure contracts in the United States, the world's largest military equipment market. "The critical issue is what the government ownership will be," a person with direct knowledge of the talks said. The only reason not to do a deal would be around government ownership. The deal proposed by EADS and BAE offers Britain, France and Germany each a so-called golden share, with a veto over hostile takeovers or deals involving sensitive national security assets. But Thomas O. Enders, chief executive of EADS, and his counterpart at BAE, Ian King, have stressed that ownership of ordinary shares would not grant the governments any additional influence in the management of a merged company. Melissa Eddy contributed reporting from Berlin, and Mark Scott from London. Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the position of the EADS and BAE chiefs on the prospective effect of share ownership by governments in a merged company. They said ownership of ordinary shares would not grant any additional influence; they were not referring to so-called golden shares with a veto over some deals.