EADS chief Tom Enders tries to salvage BAE deal It was the latest stumbling block on the road to a £30bn tie-up, which would see defence giant BAE take 40pc of a new entity in which Airbus owner EADS would have a 60pc stake. Lagardère, the French government, and German car company Daimler control key stakes in EADS, while the British government has a golden share in BAE, with the authority to veto any deal if it was believed to be against Britain's national interests. The two companies need the approval of the British, French, German and US governments if a deal is to go ahead. It is understood the British government would not support any deal that would see the French and German governments take a stake above 9pc each in a new combined entity, which is the maximum limit the two companies are believed to be prepared to accept. The meeting on Monday came the day after Mr Enders and Ian King, BAE chief executive issued a comment piece to British, French, and German newspapers in an attempt to rally support for the deal before an October 10 deadline to produce a formal proposals or walk away. They may also seek an extension to a deal. Mr Enders and Mr King, who have known each other for years, said that a deal makes sense for a number of reasons. In it they said that it would be a combination "borne out of opportunity, not necessity," allowing both companies to diversify. Together, we would become a business with a global footprint, and a wider customer base. We would be able better to ride the cycles of civil aviation demand and defence spending. And we would be a business with the scale and stability to invest more in R&D, and a force for greater competition and growth," they wrote. Mr Enders and Mr King said the tie-up would be a positive for jobs in the long term, but gave no specific assurances. Political intervention has so far proved the biggest headache for EADS and BAE because of the variety of national interests at stake. Chief executives from both companies have indicated they would prefer that no government had a stake in a combined company. The British government is believed to be broadly supportive of a deal but negotiations are ongoing.