Bombardier finalizes sale of aerostructures business, re-focuses on biz jets

By Skies Magazine | October 28, 2020

Bombardier has reached a definitive agreement to sell its aerostructures business to Spirit AeroSystems Holding, Inc., with the closing date set for Oct. 30, 2020. The transaction was subject to regulatory approvals and closing conditions, which have all been met.

The OEM initially made the announcement to sell its aerostructures operation in October 2019, as part of an effort to reposition as a “pure-play business jet company.” That announcement came roughly five months after the company consolidated its aerospace assets into a single, streamlined, and fully integrated business unit, called Bombardier Aviation.

The company said it believes business aviation is one of its strongest growth pillars, in addition to its train/transportation division.

“Today’s announcement marks another milestone towards achieving our strategic goal of repositioning Bombardier as a pure-play business jet company,” said Eric Martel, Bombardier president and CEO, in an Oct. 26 press release.

“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.”

The agreement will see Spirit AeroSystems acquire Bombardier’s aerostructures activities and aftermarket services operations in Belfast, U.K.; Casablanca, Morocco; and its aerostructures maintenance, repair and overhaul facility in Dallas, Texas. The transaction with Spirit AeroSystems is valued at a total of roughly $1.2 billion, with cash proceeds expected to be $275 million.

Once the transaction has closed, Spirit will continue to supply structural aircraft components and spare parts to support Bombardier Aviation’s production and in-service fleet of Learjet, Challenger and Global aircraft.

The sale will streamline the aerostructures operations, allowing greater focus on “core capabilities” in Montreal and Mexico, as well as the Global 7500 wing operations in Texas.