BAE says it's not near merger with Boeing LONDON (AP) =97 Aerospace company BAE Systems on Monday dismissed as=20 speculative a report that it has held exploratory talks with Boeing about a= =20 possible merger that would create a $32 billion defense business. The=20 Sunday Times reported that senior bankers held talks on behalf of the two=20 companies last autumn, before BAE issued a profit warning in December.=20 Although the paper said the two sides have put their talks on hold, it=20 cited sources close to BAE as saying the companies are still eager to make= =20 a deal. BAE Systems spokesman Richard Coltart described the report as "speculation"= =20 but would neither confirm nor deny that talks with Boeing had taken place=20 last fall. Similar reports have surfaced in the past, he said. BAE shares=20 sank 5% after it dismissed the report. BAE has said it believes there will= =20 ultimately be two or three major players in the industry, each with a U.S.= =20 component, and that BAE, headquartered in the English town of Farnborough,= =20 intends to be one of them. BAE collaborates with Boeing on several=20 projects. The British company supplies flight controls for Boeing's 777=20 airliner, while Boeing builds the U.S. Navy's main jet trainer, the T-45=20 Goshawk, under license for BAE. The United States accounted for 20% of=20 BAE's total sales last year, and this share has been growing. About=20 four-fifths of BAE's overall sales are related to defense, with the=20 remainder consisting largely of a 20% stake in Airbus =97 the European=20 commercial aircraft maker and Boeing rival. BAE has operations in 30=20 states and a U.S. workforce of 22,000. Contributing: Reuters *************************************************** The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site/TnTisland.com Roj (Roger James) escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: www.tntisland.com Carib Brass Ctn site www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ Steel Expressions www.mts.net/~ejames/se/ Site of the Week: http://www.atlanticlng.com TnT Webdirectory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************