Montreal-based Bombardier has entered into an amended definitive agreement to sell its aerostructures business to Spirit AeroSystems Holding, Inc (Spirit), which is headquartered in Kansas, supporting Bombardier’s strategic decision to reposition itself as a business aircraft company. This transaction is set to close on Friday (30 October) as all closing conditions have been met.

Under the amended agreement, Spirit will acquire Bombardier’s aerostructures activities and aftermarket services operations in Belfast, Casablanca, Morocco and its US-based aerostructures maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility in Dallas for cash consideration of $275 million.

This will take into account Spirit’s assumption of liabilities, including government refundable advances and pension obligations, valued at $824 million, as well as certain adjustments to the parties’ trading agreements favourable to Bombardier.

Éric Martel, Bombardier Inc president and CEO, said: “This announcement marks another milestone towards achieving our strategic goal of repositioning Bombardier as a ‘pure-play’ business jet company and are very excited about our future as a more focused company.”

Spirit president and CE Tom Gentile said: “The proceeds from this transaction and from the pending sale of Bombardier Transportation strengthen our liquidity and position us to begin reshaping our capital structure and address our balance sheet challenges so that we can achieve the full potential of our incredibly talented employees and our industry leading business jet portfolio.”

“This acquisition accelerates our strategic transformation by increasing our Airbus content with the A220 composite wing and growing our aftermarket business.

“The transaction secures Spirit's position as the world's leader in composite structures for aircraft and as one of the leaders in integrated wing technologies.

“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. Going forward, we look forward to becoming one of Bombardier's largest suppliers.”

Headquartered in Montréal, Canada, Bombardier has production and engineering sites in over 25 countries across the segments of aviation and transportation.

ADS chief executive Paul Everitt said: “The completion of the sale of Bombardier’s Belfast facility to Spirit AeroSystems this Friday is great news for its highly skilled workforce, the aerospace supply chain in Northern Ireland and the entire UK aerospace industry. The Belfast facility is a centre of excellence for aerospace and is home for the award-winning resin-infused advanced composite A220 wing.

“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 around the world.

“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 its UK footprint for the future.”