Spirit AeroSystems has agreed an amended deal with Bombardier to purchase the Canadian manufacturer’s aerostructures business at a reduced price.

Spirit will acquire Bombardier’s aerostructures activities and aftermarket services operations in Belfast, UK; Casablanca, Morocco; and its aerostructures MRO facility in Dallas, USA, for a cash consideration of US$275 million. This represents a 45 per cent reduction on the originally agreed price of US$500 million, and comes as a result of the impact of Covid-19 on the industry.

Spirit will also now assume liabilities, including government refundable advances and pension obligations, valued at US$824 million. This is up from the US$700 million agreed in the original 2019 deal.

All closing conditions have now been met and the transaction is set to close on 30 October, 2020.

Spirit AeroSystems’ president and chief executive officer Tom Gentile said the acquisition would accelerate the company’s strategic transformation “by increasing our Airbus content with the A220 composite wing and growing our aftermarket business”.

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.”

Bombardier said the sale supported its strategic decision to reposition itself as a pure-play business aircraft company.

“We are very excited about our future as a more focused company,” said Bombardier’s president and chief executive officer Éric Martel.

“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.”