Boeing will buy the aircraft manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems for this amount

MADRID (EUROPA PRESS) – The American company Boeing reached an agreement to buy the aeronautical manufacturer and supplier Spirit AeroSystems for approximately 4.7 billion dollars in cash, which would rise to 8.3 billion dollars if net liabilities were also included.

The terms of the deal call for Boeing to pay $37.25 per Spirit AeroSystems common share, a 30 percent premium to the closing price on Feb. 29, the day the talks began.

Spirit AeroSystems, which was spun off from Boeing in 2005, will be reacquired by Airbus’ biggest rival after a January crash aboard a 737 Max-9 plane exposed quality and manufacturing deficiencies at both Boeing and its biggest supplier.

The transaction is expected to close in the middle of next year. Boeing has also indicated that it will be responsible for “virtually all commercial operations related to Boeing,” as well as other commercial, defense and after-sales services activities.

“We believe this agreement is in the best interest of the aviation public, our customers, Spirit and Boeing employees, our shareholders and the country as a whole,” Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said in a statement reported by Europa Press.

“After carefully evaluating Boeing’s offer to merge, we are confident that this transaction will be in the best interest of Spirit and its shareholders and will benefit Spirit’s other stakeholders,” said Patrick Shanahan, President and CEO of Spirit AeroSystems.

“The merger of Spirit and Boeing will allow for greater integration of the manufacturing and engineering capabilities of both companies, including safety and quality systems,” he added.

IMPACT ON AIRBUS

For its part, Airbus has issued a press release in which it has announced that it will receive 559 million dollars in compensation from Spirit AeroSystems. The “binding agreement” provides for the European multinational to take over the facilities that manufacture sections of the A350 fuselage in Kinston (North Carolina) and Saint-Nazaire (France).

Airbus will also seek to acquire the A220 wing and fuselage manufacturing activities in Belfast (Northern Ireland) and Casablanca (Morocco), and the manufacturing of A220 engine mounting points in Wichita (Kansas).