The old shareholder deal was designed to get around the Dutch rule by placing big stakes in the hands of private firms Lagardere and Daimler. But those companies wanted out, which meant the entire arrangement was in danger of collapsing.

Officials say French President Francois Hollande and Chancellor Angela Merkel quickly agreed the political outlines of a new arrangement: France and Germany would effectively control 12 percent each and Spain 4 percent, leaving a safety margin below the 30 percent ceiling.

On technical points, however, France and Germany started “on a different planet,” according to one person close to the talks. Chief among these differences was composition of the board, on which Berlin initially demanded the right to place appointees.

PIZZA, SUSHI AND LAWYERS SPEAKING DUTCH

The long, final act began late on Friday Nov. 30. For five days, government officials and private negotiators slipped through the back door of French state law offices behind the Champs Elysees, followed by deliveries of pizza or sushi.

Reflecting the wide interests at stake in one of Europe’s most strategic companies, 40 or 50 people negotiated in a large room. Each delegation was assigned a side room to talk tactics.

EADS strategy chief Marwan Lahoud, who had masterminded the failed BAE bid and did much of the creative homework for the new EADS governance deal, asserted the group’s independence by pinning up a “Toulouse” sign outside the EADS retreat. The company’s decision to base itself in France’s aerospace capital was still a sore point with Germany.

To deal with the legal requirements of the Netherlands, each party needed a lawyer with access to a secret weapon: Dutch.

“Each time a new point was introduced the Dutch started shouting,” recalls one of the attendees. “People would get up and slam shut their folders and say ‘that’s it, I’m leaving’.”