Russia's VTB has been approached by as many as four investment banks vying to buy its stake in EADS, which it bought last year for $1bn ($726bn) despite concerns over the influence it would give the Kremlin in the European defence and aerospace company's operations.

Andrei Kostin, the chief executive of VTB, said the bank, which completed a $8.2bn London and Moscow flotation two months ago, had been approached by "three or four investment banks" about selling its 5% stake in EADS, according to Bloomberg.