It looked likely that Plessey Co would enlist Thomson SA of France as its first line of defence against the GEC Siemens Ltd bid as we closed for press Friday, with a broad brush series of collaborations on defence being accompanied by the French state owned company taking a 15% stake in Plessey – most likely via an issue of new shares to replenish Plessey’s coffers. Thomson is delayed by the need to ask the French government for the cash. It is also keen to get back into civil communications, where Plessey still has interests beyond its GEC Plessey Telecom stake.
