BAE abandons its $2bn Platform sale

BAE Systems has had a change of heart about its plans to sell part of its US commercial aerospace division, opting to keep the Platform Solutions unit after a strategic review of the business.

The defence group, which began looking for buyers in September last year, said that despite "considerable expressions of interest" no sale had been agreed.

"It has been concluded that it would not be in the best interests of the group or its Platform Solutions business to extend this lengthy period of uncertainty and a sale of the business is no longer being pursued," it added.

The division, which was expected to fetch up to $2bn (£1.3bn), makes aerospace parts such as digital engine controls and employs some 4,200 people worldwide.