Bombardier has amended an agreement for the sale of its aerostructures business to Spirit AeroSystems, which includes its plant in Belfast.
At signing on 31st October 2019, the deal meant Spirit would pay $500 million in cash, take on $300 million in pension liabilities and approximately $290 million of government grant repayment obligations, taking the total to just under $1.1 billion.
As the aviation industry continues to suffer in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the amount Spirit will pay in cash to Bombardier has been reduced from $500 million to $275 million.
Spirit will acquire Bombardier’s aerostructures activities and aftermarket services operations in Belfast, UK; Casablanca, Morocco; and its aerostructures MRO facility in Dallas, US.
"This acquisition accelerates our strategic transformation by increasing our Airbus content with the A220 composite wing and growing our aftermarket business," said Spirit AeroSystems president and CEO Tom Gentile.
He added: "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."
The acquisition is expected to close on 30th October.
Selling the Belfast facility has been part of a plan to combine Bombardier‘s corporate and regional jet units into a single aviation unit and shed more non-core assets, including its Belfast and Morocco aerostructures businesses.
The backlog of work for the three sites, which employ 4,000 people, includes long-term contracts on the Airbus A220 and A320neo, along with Bombardier business and regional jets.
A spokesperson for Bombardier Belfast said: "We are delighted with today’s announcement and look forward to becoming part of Spirt AeroSystems on closure of the transaction on Friday 30 October."
