Don't shoot the messenger!
Talking to a friend who is currently working in Toulouse and he says the A380 programme is in danger of falling into very deep merde due to cost over-runs, performance shortfall, (ZFW I believe), and delivery date slippage. If this programme were to fail, (they are not yet half way to break even), AirBus will be in financial trouble.
Could it be that BAe are getting out whilst their paper is still worth something? I'm just the messenger asking a question, no axe to grind.