Europe's largest defence firm BAE Systems will not be awarded the role of prime contractor for two new aircraft carriers for Britain's Royal Navy, the Financial Times reported on Saturday.
BAE was named as preferred prime contractor in a partnership with France's Thales SA last year when the Ministry of Defence announced the winner of a competition to build the ships.
In a decision expected to be published in a letter to the companies next week neither Thales nor BAE will be named as prime contractor, people familiar with the decision told the FT.
"We have been in discussions with both companies, BAE and Thales, continuously over the last year, and we now have some important decisions to take," a Ministry of Defence spokesman told Reuters. "We do not conduct negotiations in public".