German Chancellor Angela Merkel's government looks keen to buy a bigger stake of up to 12 percent of the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company (EADS), the parent firm of aircraft maker Airbus.

The plan is to buy a 7.5-percent stake from Daimler and an additional 4.5 percent from the Dedalus Consortium, which belongs to private banks. The deal is to be finalized next year at the latest with the Daimler part of the stake to change hands already this summer.

The transaction will be carried out by the state-controlled development bank KfW, if shareholders play along.

"We have made provisions to buy further EADS shares in the event that private banks wish to sell them," the Economics Ministry said in a statement on Friday. Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble was reported to have increased risk provisions to total 1.6 billion euros ($2.1 billion) via a 2012 supplementary budget.

If the deal goes ahead, the German government would end up with a 15-percent stake of EADS, including the shares the KfW bank has already received from the Dedalus Consortium. This would bring the German stake level with that of France.

Eyed with suspicion

Berlin's intentions are certain to add to tensions over site locations at EADS. The company had already warned the German government it would not tolerate any meddling.

EADS Chief Executive Louis Gallois defended plans by his German successor designate, Tom Enders, to focus more of the company's activities at Toulouse, France, thus weakening the position of the German location at Ottobrunn in southern Germany.

Enders, who's currently in charge of Airbus, said EADS could not restructure along political considerations, if it were to keep its competitiveness on global markets.

The German government's Aerospace Coordinator, Peter Hintze, for his part insisted he would campaign for a fair share for Germany in research, development and industrial production at EADS and Airbus in particular.

hg / glb (AFP, Reuters, dapd)