30 November 1999: BAE Systems formed in £7.7bn merger

On this day in 1999, British Aerospace merged with Marconi Electronic Systems to form BAE Systems, one of the biggest arms manufacturers in the world

BAE Systems stand on the opening day of the Farnborough International Airshow 2024
(Image credit: JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

When thinking of international business successes, it's unlikely that the name “Marconi” is in anyone's mind. After all, Marconi Plc, the telecoms company and successor to GEC, imploded spectacularly after the dot-com bubble, after a series of disastrous management decisions. But there was another Marconi – Marconi Electronic Systems – that had been spun off from GEC and went on to form half of one of the world's biggest arms manufacturers (or defence companies, if you prefer).

The last years of the 20th century saw huge consolidation in the defence industry. Boeing and McDonnell Douglas merged, and Lockheed Martin was formed by the merger of Lockheed and Martin Marietta. Europe had designs on a consolidated defence company of its own, which eventually became EADS, then Airbus.

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Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.