Europe's biggest defense company BAE Systems confirmed on Friday that it is holding negotiations on the sale of its 20 percent stake in the European aircraft-maker Airbus.

The British defense group is holding talks with the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), which owns the rest of stake in Airbus.

"Discussions are at an early stage and a further announcement will be made if and when appropriate," BAE was quoted by the BBC as saying on Friday, adding that there would be no implications for Airbus' 13,000 British staff if and when a sale goes through.

On Thursday, BAE shares went down to 430 pence a share on the news.

Airbus' UK operations designed and built wings for its fleet of large commercial jets, and Airbus' Broughton plant is one of the largest factories in Britain.

The sale would mean there would no longer be any British ownership of the huge manufacturing sites at Broughton in North Wales and Filton near Bristol.

The first ever Airbus, an A-300, took off in October 1974, and British Aerospace joined the consortium in 1979.

There are over 3,900 Airbus jets in service, and Airbus employs a total of 55,000 staff worldwide and its turnover in 2005 was 15.3 billion pounds (about 26.8 billion U.S. dollars).

BAE's chief executive Mike Turner confirmed that the firm wished to renew its focus on its core defense business, which is rapidly growing in the Untied States.

Despite a bumper year for Airbus sales in 2005, BAE's commercial aerospace division saw its overall profits fall to 179 million pounds (about 313.3 million dollars) from 201 million pounds (about 351.9 million dollars) a year earlier because of weak demand for its regional jets.

Source: Xinhua