Advisers BNP Paribas
THERE are a handful of advisers working on the deal, many of whom have enjoyed long relationships with both BAE Systems and EADS. On this particular deal, BAE is being advised by Morgan Stanley, Gleacher Shacklock and Goldman Sachs, with UBS acting as corporate broker. Evercore, Pirella, Lazard and BNP Paribas are working for EADS. Thierry Varène, described as a top “rainmaker”, is the lead on the deal at BNP Paribas for EADS. Varène is the global head of corporate finance for the investment bank, and is an experienced European dealmaker with hundreds of deals under his belt. It is understood Varène has previously advised EADS on deals with AviChina and Nortel. In 2010, he advised on the merger between International Power and GDF Suez Energy when it became New International Power, and worked on the initial public offering of EDF Energy in 2005. Over at Lazard, Matthieu Pigasse, chief executive of Lazard France, is heading up the deal alongside Jean-Louis Girodolle, a former director in the French government’s Treasury Department. Meanwhile founder Timothy Shacklock at Gleacher Shacklock is heading up the team there. The independent advisory firm specialises in corporate mergers, acquisitions and strategies. Shacklock has advised BAE in the past, on the $4.2bn (£2.6bn) acquisition of United Defense Industries in 2005, as well as on the €2.75bn deal in 2006, when BAE sold its 20 per cent shareholding in Airbus.