01/07/2024 – 15:50
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing confirmed on Monday (1st) that it had reached a “definitive agreement” to buy its subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems, which has been accused of quality problems.
“The purchase will be entirely in shares, with an approximate value of 4.7 billion dollars (R$26.2 billion), or 37.25 dollars (R$208.1) per share,” the company said in a statement.
Boeing revealed in March that it was in talks to reacquire Spirit, which it spun off in 2005 to cut costs.
“We believe this agreement is for the benefit of passengers, our customers, Spirit and Boeing employees, our shareholders and the country as a whole,” said Boeing President Dave Calhoun, quoted in the statement.
Calhoun stated that by reintegrating Spirit, “we can completely align our commercial production systems,” including quality and safety management systems, and “our workforce with the same priorities, incentives and outcomes, focused on safety and quality ”.
– Security issue –
Boeing is Spirit’s biggest customer, with Spirit deriving 70% of its revenue from the American planemaker in 2023.
Both companies have faced questions since a near-catastrophic incident on January 5, when a blind door on a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines came loose during flight.
The case revived concerns about the MAX after two fatal crashes in 2018 and 2019.
Boeing announced operational changes on March 1 designed to improve its interface with Spirit AeroSystems, including sending additional personnel to work at Spirit’s Wichita, Kansas, facility.
On March 4, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicated that “noncompliance issues” were detected in production controls at Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems.
Peter McNally, an analyst at Third Bridge, said buying Spirit would not be a “quick fix” for Boeing’s problems. “A significant part of the challenges at Spirit has been a lack of skilled workers, a challenge Boeing itself has faced for years,” he said.
“The industrial logic of integrating the supply chain is sound, but the reality may be more challenging as Boeing has faced challenges in its own manufacturing and assembly operations.”
Boeing shares rose 1.5% in morning trading, while Spirit posted gains of 2.6%.
Boeing also faces a turning point this week with the Justice Department, which concluded in May that the manufacturer could be sued for violating a 2021 deferred settlement reached after the two fatal 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.
An attorney for the victims’ families said Sunday that the Justice Department is offering Boeing a plea deal that will allow it to avoid a trial related to those two fatal crashes.
The victims’ families demand that Boeing and its executives be criminally prosecuted and a fine of almost 25 billion dollars (R$139.7 billion).
– Parts also for Airbus –
Spirit AeroSystems also manufactures fuselages and other important parts for Airbus.
Airbus said it would buy Spirit AeroSystems’ facilities that make parts for its planes for a nominal fee of $1 and would be “compensated by a payment of $559 million from Spirit AeroSystems” for the transaction.
The operation includes A350-related production centers in North Carolina and France, as well as A220 wing and mid-fuselage production in Belfast and Casablanca, Morocco. It would also cover A220 high voltage towers manufactured in Kansas, USA.
Airbus said the agreement “aims to ensure supply stability for its commercial aircraft programs through a more sustainable way forward, both operationally and financially.”
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