Spirit Aero to Buy Bombardier’s Aerostructures Business

Bombardier has agreed to sell its aerostructures business to Kansas-based Spirit AeroSystems for USD$1.1 billion as the Canadian company refocuses on business aviation and its train business.

The deal includes Bombardier’s Belfast, UK plant that produces wings for the Airbus A220 aircraft, plus other, smaller facilities in Morocco and Dallas.

The deal is structured as a USD$500 million cash consideration, plus the assumption of liabilities of about $600 million, Spirit said in a statement.

“This transaction represents another strategic milestone in the reshaping of our portfolio to focus on our strong business aircraft and rail franchises,” Bombardier chief executive Alain Bellemare said.

“We are confident that Spirit’s acquisition of these aerostructures assets is the best outcome for customers, employees and shareholders.”

“The Bombardier operations bring world-class engineering expertise to Spirit and add to a strong track record of innovation, especially in advanced composites,” Spirit CEO Tom Gentile said.

“Belfast has developed an impressive position in business jet fuselage production, in addition to the world-acclaimed fully integrated A220 composite wing. This acquisition is in line with our growth strategy of increasing Airbus content, developing low-cost country footprint, and growing our aftermarket business.”

Spirit will also continue to supply structural aircraft components and spare parts to support the production and in-service fleet of Bombardier’s Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2020.