(Corrects spelling of minister's surname in second paragraph)
BRUSSELS, Oct 9 (Reuters) - British Defence Secretary PhilipHammond said on Tuesday he hoped to meet his French, German andU.S. counterparts to discuss the proposed merger of aerospacegroups EADS and BAE Systems , a day before adeadline for the deal.
"We always knew that there was a crunch point this Wednesdayand the company has to decide today whether it's going to askthe stock exchange for an extension of time or not," Hammondtold reporters as he arrived for a meeting of NATO defenceministers in Brussels.
"I'm hoping to meet my German, French and indeed my Americancounterparts during the course of this meeting to talk aboutthis subject," he said.
(Reporting by Adrian Croft)
((adrian.croft@thomsonreuters.com)(+32 2 287 6839)(ReutersMessaging: adrian.croft.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: EADS BAE/BRITAIN