Boeing Considers Shedding Airbus Work in Potential Spirit Aero Acquisition & Explores Disposal of Some Defense Assets

(Arlington, Virginia) Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) is currently exploring how Spirit AeroSystems (NYSE: SPR) could shed its ties to Airbus (AIR: FR-Euronext Paris) as part of the company’s attempt to acquire its former subsidiary, per Reuters; Boeing is also exploring the sale of at least two of its defense businesses, according to Bloomberg.

Boeing's new 737 MAX-9 is pictured under construction at their production facility in Renton, Washington, U.S., February 13, 2017, courtesy of REUTERS/Jason Redmond/File Photo.

Spirit AeroSystems makes most of the Boeing 737 aircraft frame.

Per Reuters, Boeing is exploring offloading or redeploying specific Spirit businesses that supply key Airbus components if it reaches a deal, according to sources familiar with the matter. The transaction could cost Boeing upwards of $3 billion, based on Spirit’s market value before the talks became public two weeks ago.

Boeing and Airbus are the world's only major commercial aircraft makers, and both are currently trying to solve quality problems and hold down costs as the former deals with the fallout from the crisis caused by a mid-air cabin paleo blowout on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 in January, according to Reuters.

In the wake of the January 5th catastrophe, Boeing shares have lost more than 30% in value, twice as much as the next-worst laggard on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, per Bloomberg.

While Boeing had previously weighed bringing Spirit back in to the fold, the Jan. 5 incident accelerated efforts, with Boeing revisiting the two-decade-old decision to separate a critical part of its manufacturing business to save money, per Reuters.

According to yesterday’s Bloomberg article, Boeing has also been exploring the sale of at least two of its defense businesses, as it seeks to emerge from its biggest crisis in recent history. Assets potentially for sale include Boeing’s Digital Receiver Technology Inc. unit, which makes products for intelligence and defense customers, as well as some of the defense programs in Boeing’s global services division.

The Bloomberg articles reads: “Financial advisers have contacted potential buyers on Boeing’s behalf to gauge interest in several smaller units, according to people familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. The efforts have been underway for about a year, predating the Jan. 5 accident that has placed the planemaker under intense scrutiny, one of the people said."

Shares of Boeing stock rose as much as 1.1% after Bloomberg reported on the deliberations, according to yesterday’s article.

Boeing also continues to weigh options for its stake in United Launch Alliance, its rocket-launch joint venture with Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE: LMT). In December of 2023, ULA reportedly received buyout bids from Jeff Bezos’s space company, Blue Origin, and Cerberus, Stephen Feinberg’s private-equity giant.