PARIS (Reuters) - Shares in aerospace groups Safran (PA:SAF) and Zodiac, whose merger plans have been criticised by some investors, were suspended on Wednesday.
A Safran spokeswoman said Safran would issue a statement later in the day, but declined to provide further details. Officials at Zodiac could not be immediately reached for immediate comment.
Safran's planned $9 billion (6.9 billion pounds) deal with Zodiac has been questioned in light of profit warnings from Zodiac, with British activist investor TCI Fund Management calling on Safran to cancel the takeover.
Last month, Zodiac Chief Executive Olivier Zarrouati offered his resignation following another profit warning from Zodiac.
Zodiac said it had asked Zarrouati to stay on "for a while" to try to forge the world's third-largest aerospace supplier, but added it was working on an alternative stand-alone plan in case the Safran merger fell through.
A financial source also told Reuters in April that Safran was exploring plans to lower its offer for Zodiac.
A new structure could involve a mixture of cash and shares in a more traditional offer for Zodiac, rather than a complex two-tier structure designed to woo family shareholders, the source said.
Zodiac shares last traded down 0.5 percent at 22.97 euros - below Safran's offer price of 29.47 euros.