Bombardier (
www.bombardier.com) is reportedly in talks with the Canadian government over a financial deal to help improve the finances of the struggling aerospace and rail group.
Towards the end of 2015, the Quebec government pledged $1 billion for a minority stake in the group’s C Series jet programme and called on the federal government to match its offer.
The Government has been reviewing that request and is said to have brought in Morgan Stanley to assess the pros and cons of any possible deal.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his ministers have praised the C Series jet in recent months, calling it a “superlative” and “fabulous” product, while saying that no final investment decision has been made.
However, “the federal government is said to be seeking unspecified concessions from Bombardier and is otherwise prepared to walk away”, an industry insider told the Canadian press.
The C Series jet is more than two years late and more than $2 billion over budget, as it nears its commercial debut with Lufthansa AG’s Swiss International division (scheduled for the third quarter of 2016).