Senior Editor

Jerry Siebenmark

Spirit AeroSystems will proceed with its acquisition of Bombardier’s Airbus A220 wing and aftermarket business but at&nbsp;a 45 percent lower cash price, the Wichita-based aerostructures supplier announced Monday. Under an amended definitive agreement, Spirit will acquire the outstanding equity of Short&nbsp;Brothers in the UK and Bombardier Aerospace North Africa (BANA) for $275 million in cash instead of the previous $500 million.

 


Further, Spirit will acquire all the assets of the MRO business in Dallas and assume certain liabilities of Shorts and BANA. It also will make a special contribution of about $130 million to Short's&nbsp;pension plan on the first anniversary of the closing of the deal, as well as assume obligations of a repayable investment agreement totaling $290 million with the UK’s Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. Spirit also will assume $300 million of net liabilities of Short's&nbsp;pension plan.

 


With the amended agreement, Spirit expects to close on the acquisition on October 30. “This acquisition accelerates our strategic transformation by increasing our Airbus content with the A220 composite wing and growing our aftermarket business,” said Spirit president and CEO Tom Gentile. “As with the rest of the aerostructures industry, performance will be adversely impacted due to Covid-19 for the coming years, but we worked closely with Bombardier on a mutually agreeable price reduction that mitigates this impact.”

 


The former Short Brothers factory at Belfast in Northern Ireland is an aerostructures center of excellence that produces the composite wing for the A220 airliner (formerly Bombardier's CSeries aircraft). The facility had been living under the threat of closure and Paul Everitt, chief executive of UK industry group ADS welcomed the takeover.&nbsp;“Being one of the largest aerostructures businesses in the world, Spirit AeroSystems will be a great partner for the facility and will help open up new opportunities across the world," he commented.&nbsp;“At a time of unparalleled difficulty for our sector, it is great to see the commitment from Spirit AeroSystems to invest in world-leading aerospace expertise and expand their UK footprint for the future.”

Spirit Aero Proceeds With Bombardier Deal for Less Cash

Spirit AeroSystems will acquire the outstanding equity of Short Brothers and Bombardier Aerospace North Africa for $275 million in cash.

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