Enders Says November '05 Sales Were Above-Board

It looks bad... but Airbus CEO Thomas Enders passionately denies commiting insider trading by dumping shares of parent company EADS ahead of public disclosure of problems with the Airbus A380.

As ANN reported this week, the French government says investigators have determined "massive insider trading" was conducted by 21 top managers in 2005 and 2006.

Enders -- who was co-chief executive at EADS during that time -- sold off large amounts of stock in November 2005. He maintains the sales were perfectly legal, and had nothing to do with subsequent revelations of a second delay in production of the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

"I have never committed any insider trading, and I have not been accused of insider dealing by anyone, including the AMF," Enders wrote in a letter to Airbus employees this week, obtained by Dow Jones Newswires. "I categorically refute the allegations and insinuations in the press."

Reports of the investigators' claims were made public Wednesday in the French daily Le Figaro. The report stated AMF -- the French stock market regulator -- sent a letter to the government, focusing attention on stock sales conducted by about 20 senior managers and EADS shareholders, as well as EADS partners Lagardere SCA and DaimlerChrysler AG.

"I explained in detail to the AMF only two weeks ago that when I exercised my stock options in November 2005 there was no reason to believe that it would be improper to sell EADS shares at that point in time," Enders said.

The investigation continues.

FMI: www.eads.com