In December 1998 , when it was reported that British Aerospace and DASA were close to merging , Aérospatiale paralysed negotiations on the Airbus conversion ; the French company feared the combined BAe\/DASA , which would own 57.9 % of Airbus , would dominate the company and it insisted on a 50\/50 split .
The French company thought that if BAe and DASA merged , that company would own 57.9 % of Airbus .