((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
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Boeing va payer 37,25 dollars par action pour Spirit Aero
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sources
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Aircraft maker hopes deal will help ease safety crisis
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Some Spirit assets will be transferred to Airbus as part of the deal
(Title Change) by Mike Stone and Allison Lampert
Boeing BA.N agreed on Sunday to acquire Spirit AeroSystems SPR.N for more than $4 billion, two people familiar with the matter said, ending months of negotiations over a deal the U.S. planemaker hopes will help ease a worsening safety crisis.
Boeing will pay $37.25 per share for Spirit Aero in an all-stock transaction, the two people said. The boards of directors of Boeing and Spirit met Sunday and agreed on terms of the deal, and a formal announcement is expected early Monday, they said.
The acquisition values Spirit at about $4.7 billion, according to one of the sources.
The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, would break up Spirit, with some of the Kansas-based supplier’s assets transferred to French planemaker Airbus AIR.PA .
Airbus, Spirit and Boeing declined to comment.
Boeing is trying to overcome a year of challenges triggered by the Jan. 5 in-flight explosion of a door plug on a new 737 MAX 9 jet that exposed myriad safety and quality issues. Those problems led to a significant production slowdown at Boeing that rippled across the commercial aviation industry.
Spirit, the maker of the door stopper, was spun off from Boeing in 2005, part of a series of moves that critics said were emblematic of an emphasis on cost-cutting over quality.
Boeing made the decision to buy Spirit following the Jan. 5 incident on an Alaska Airlines ALK.N flight, as part of an effort to reform its safety problems and shore up its production line.
Boeing had previously considered paying $35.50 per share in cash for Spirit, but that was increased to $37.25 when the deal went into stock, one of the sources said.
Terms of a side deal that would see Spirit sell its European operations to Airbus were not immediately clear.
Informed people said the two deals were expected to be announced at the same time early Monday. The two deals amount to a transatlantic split of the world’s largest independent aerostructures maker, which has diversified into making parts for Airbus and other companies since being spun off from Boeing nearly two decades ago. years.
PRODUCTION CAP
Buying Spirit Aero won’t immediately solve Boeing’s problems.
Following the door stopper incident in January, the Federal Aviation Administration imposed a cap on production of Boeing’s best-selling MAX jets.
On Sunday, Reuters reported that the U.S. Justice Department would charge Boeing with fraud in two fatal crashes and require it to plead guilty or face trial.
The iconic American company has been losing market share to Airbus for years, and it still has to deal with the consequences of the two crashes which killed nearly 350 people and forced the grounding of the 737 MAX.
These accidents led to the appointment of the current CEO, Dave Calhoun, who was hired to solve the automaker’s problems, but who will leave later this year as the company faces increased regulatory oversight and its reputation is not in good shape.
On June 18, U.S. senators sharply criticized Mr. Calhoun ( ) for the planemaker’s safety problems and repeatedly questioned him about his salary. Some airlines have publicly and privately expressed frustration with Boeing over the company’s delivery delays and ongoing problems.
Boeing recently submitted to the FAA a comprehensive plan to address “systemic quality control issues” within the company.
