Sagem, Snecma merger approval expected from French regulator soon - Bechat

PARIS (AFX) - Jean-Paul Bechat, CEO of the Ste Nationale d'Etude et de Construction de Moteurs d'Aviation (Snecma), said he expects the French markets regulator AMF to give its approval of the planned merger of Snecma with Sagem SA within days.

"We are going to wait patiently for a few days" for the merger approval, Bechat said at a press conference after both Snecma and Sagem published 2004 revenues this morning.

An exact date for the merger approval has not been set, but Yves Imbert, director of strategy at Snecma, said he expects the AMF to announce its decision by the end of this week.

If so, the merger period would open shortly afterwards, and close by the end of February, Bechat said.

Earlier today, Snecma posted full year sales of 6.431 bln eur, up 5.9 pct year-on-year, while Sagem's 2004 sales rose 12.3 pct to 3.57 bln.

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