ISTANBUL, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Leading buyers may offer Airbus between one billion and 1.5 billion in reimbursable loans to help bridge a financing gap on its delayed A400M military transport plane, France's defence minister said on Thursday.
'We decided on a system of reimbursable advances between 1 and 1.5 billion euros which the (purchasing) states would put on the table,' Herve Morin told reporters following seven-nation talks with Airbus parent EADS in Berlin earlier.
'It is possible that this sytem will be shared between the countries which have the most important industrial involvement -- France, Germany and Spain,' he said.
Other buyers include Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey.
Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Istanbul, Morin confirmed that nations were sticking to their core funding offer of 2 billion euros to help meet cost overruns, which is 2.4 billion euros less than EADS is demanding.
He said the purchasers, armed with the additional financing offer, hoped to wrap up talks with EADS in two to three weeks. Keywords: AIRBUS A400M/LOANS (Reporting by Julien Toyer; +331 4949 5452 paris.equities@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
'We decided on a system of reimbursable advances between 1 and 1.5 billion euros which the (purchasing) states would put on the table,' Herve Morin told reporters following seven-nation talks with Airbus parent EADS in Berlin earlier.
'It is possible that this sytem will be shared between the countries which have the most important industrial involvement -- France, Germany and Spain,' he said.
Other buyers include Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg and Turkey.
Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Istanbul, Morin confirmed that nations were sticking to their core funding offer of 2 billion euros to help meet cost overruns, which is 2.4 billion euros less than EADS is demanding.
He said the purchasers, armed with the additional financing offer, hoped to wrap up talks with EADS in two to three weeks. Keywords: AIRBUS A400M/LOANS (Reporting by Julien Toyer; +331 4949 5452 paris.equities@reuters.com) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2010. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.