French aerospace group Safran ruled out buying state chemicals firm SNPE, in spite of reported government pressure to do so, and reaffirmed its forecast of flat 2009 revenues, after a mixed first quarter. The maker of civil and military aero engines and gadgetry for defence and security industries also extended the mandate of chairman Francis Mer to 2011, quelling speculation his job could be sucked into a round of musical chairs at French arms firms.
Mer, a former finance minister who failed to engineer a merger between Safran and defence electronics group Thales, that was reportedly opposed by his own management, had been due to step down when he turns 70 next month. Speculation of such a deal has helped to weigh on Safran's shares, which rebounded as much as 4.9 percent on Thursday.