BAE-VT JV approved

Britain’s BAE Systems (BAE) and VT Group (VT) won permission from the European Commission to merge their shipbuilding operations, according to a Reuters report. BAE will hold 55% and VT the remainder, and the deal will involve BAE selling its 50% stake in Flagship Training Ltd to VT for up to $152.6m. The Commission noted that the two companies had not bid against each other in the design or building of a naval surface ship in the past decade, and so there was no problem with the venture