Bombardier in Preliminary Merger Talks With Fokker

Bombardier Inc. said Monday it is in talks with Fokker, a decision that could lead to an offer for part or all of the Dutch aircraft maker.

Fokker suspended payments to its creditors last month after its major shareholder, Daimler-Benz, withdrew its financial support.

Daimler-Benz’s decision forced Fokker to look for ways to stay in business.

“We started discussions” with Fokker Monday, Bombardier spokesman Michel Lord said. The talks follow several weeks of speculation that the two companies were negotiating.

Bombardier hasn’t made any decision on whether to make a bid, Lord said. “We have no precise intent at this time,” he added, describing the talks as preliminary.

While the Montreal-based company has joined the short list of possible Fokker bidders, interest has been expressed by 20 to 30 companies, said Fokker spokesman Romboud Klinkert.

Besides Bombardier, South Korea’s Samsung Corp. is on the short list, Klinkert said. He declined to identify the others.

However, British Aerospace, the British aircraft and weapons maker, on Monday said it has shown an interest in Fokker.

Fokker has about three weeks to come up with a partner before it uses up its latest emergency credit package.

The Dutch government, Fokker’s second-biggest shareholder after Daimler-Benz, granted the company about $221 million in aid late last month to support it for five to six weeks.

Bombardier’s decision to begin talks with Fokker was made during the weekend, Lord said. “We thought it would be beneficial for both companies” to talk, he said.

Analysts said the likelihood of Bombardier making a bid for all of Fokker was remote. Still, they said the Canadian company might be convinced that Fokker is a good buy. And Bombardier has a reputation for buying companies in financial difficulty.

“They have surprised us in the past,” said Ted Larkin, an analyst at Bunting Warburg Inc. in Toronto, referring to Bombardier’s unexpected acquisition of Short Brothers.

Belfast, Northern Ireland-based Short produces wings for the Fokker-70 and Fokker-100 jetliners. The company stands to lose about 1,500 of the 6,800 jobs in Belfast if Fokker folds.