Airbus, the Government of Québec and Bombardier have agreed a new ownership structure for the A220 programme, whereby Bombardier transferred its remaining shares in Airbus Canada Limited Partnership (Airbus Canada) to Airbus and the Government of Québec.

The transaction is effective immediately. This agreement brings the shareholdings in Airbus Canada, responsible for the A220, to 75 per cent for Airbus and 25 per cent for the Government of Québec respectively.

The government’s stake is redeemable by Airbus in 2026 – three years later than before. As part of this transaction, Airbus, via its wholly-owned subsidiary Stelia Aerospace, has also acquired the A220 and A330 work package production capabilities from Bombardier in Saint-Laurent, Québec.

This new agreement underlines the commitment of Airbus and the Government of Québec to the A220 programme during this phase of continuous ramp-up and increasing customer demand. Since Airbus took majority ownership of the A220 programme on 1 July 2018, total cumulative net orders for the aircraft have increased by 64 per cent to 658 units at the end of January 2020.

With this transaction, Bombardier will receive a consideration of $591 million from Airbus, net of adjustments, of which $531 million was received at closing and $60 million to be paid over the 2020-21 period. The agreement also provides for the cancellation of Bombardier warrants owned by Airbus, as well as releasing Bombardier of its future funding capital requirement to Airbus Canada.

As part of the agreement, Airbus has acquired the Airbus A220 and A330 work package production capability from Bombardier in Saint-Laurent, Québec. These production activities will be operated in the Saint Laurent site by Stelia Aéronautique Saint Laurent, a newly created subsidiary of Stelia Aerospace, which is a 100% Airbus subsidiary.

Stelia Aéronautique Saint-Laurent will continue the production of the A220 cockpit and aft fuselage production, as well as A330 work packages, for a transition period of approximately three years at the Saint-Laurent facility.

The A220 work packages will then be transferred to the Stelia Aerospace site in Mirabel to optimise the logistical flow to the A220 Final Assembly Line also located in Mirabel.

Airbus plans to offer all current Bombardier employees working on the A220 and A330 work packages at Saint-Laurent opportunities around the A220 programme’s ramp-up, ensuring know-how retention as well as business continuity and growth in Québec.