Boeing buys aviation firm Spirit AeroSystems for $4.7B

NEW YORK (AA): US-based Boeing announced on Monday a deal to buy aviation firm Spirit AeroSystems for some $4.7 billion. 

Boeing will pay $37.25 per share of Spirit AeroSystems, with a total transaction worth approximately $8.3 billion, including the firm’s last reported net debt.

The acquisition will include substantially all Boeing-related commercial operations, as well as additional commercial, defense, and aftermarket operations, Boeing said in a press release.

“As part of the transaction, Boeing will work with Spirit to ensure the continuity of operations supporting Spirit’s customers and programs it acquires, including working with the U.S. Department of Defense and Spirit defense customers regarding defense and security missions,” it added.

Dave Calhoun, Boeing CEO, said: “We believe this deal is in the best interest of the flying public, our airline customers, the employees of Spirit and Boeing, our shareholders and the country more broadly.

“By reintegrating Spirit, we can fully align our commercial production systems, including our Safety and Quality Management Systems, and our workforce to the same priorities, incentives and outcomes – centered on safety and quality,” he added, seemingly referring to a series of safety failures with Boeing aircraft in recent years.

Spirit has supplied Boeing with fuselages with its 737 jets, a focus of quality concerns at Boeing in recent months. The deal may be seen as a bid by Boeing to get a better handle on its signature passenger jet.