Boeing completed its acquisition of fuselage supplier Spirit Aerosystems on Monday.
The deal is valued at $4.7 billion, and Boeing is taking on the fuselage supplier’s roughly $4 billion in debt, for a total value of $8.3 billion.
The acquisition contains all of Spirit AeroSystems’ Boeing-related commercial operations, including fuselages for the 737 program as well as major structures for the 767, 777 and 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Additionally, it involves the commercial purchase of fuselages for P-8 and KC-46 military aircraft.
Boeing has also acquired portions of Spirit AeroSystems’ Belfast, Northern Ireland, operations and will function as an independent subsidiary as Short Brothers, a Boeing Company.
Spirit AeroSystems’ commercial and aftermarket operations in Wichita, Kansas; Dallas; and Tulsa, Oklahoma, as well as its Aerospace Innovation Center in Prestwick, Scotland, will begin integrating with Boeing. Moreover, Boeing will gain approximately 15,000 employees across the five global sites.
“As we welcome our new teammates and bring our two companies together, our focus is on maintaining stability so we can continue delivering high-quality airplanes, differentiated services, and advanced defense capabilities for our customers and the industry,” Boeing CEO and President Kelly Ortberg said in a statement.
Boeing has established Spirit AeroSystems’ defense segment as Spirit Defense, Ortberg said in a statement. The defense segment will continue to support its customers as an independent supplier to the defense industry. It will also act as a non-integrated subsidiary of Boeing’s defense, space and security division for financial reporting as well as select functional and site support while maintaining independent management and operations.
The transaction expands Boeing’s global maintenance, repair and overhaul services footprint. Spirit AeroSystems’ aftermarket businesses also add to the company’s rotable, lease and exchange portfolio.
Spirit AeroSystems’ symbol SPR changed to Boeing’s BA symbol to reflect the merger, according to a New York Stock Exchange notice.
While the acquisition is complete, Boeing still has to complete its divestitures of Spirit AeroSystems’ supply components to Airbus and Composites Technology Research Malaysia as part of the Federal Trade Commission’s recommendations to finalize the deal. Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
