Spirit AeroSystems acts in extremis to take over Bombardier Maroc

In a Spirit factory in Wichita, United States. BLOOMBERG

The Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier, which is preparing to complete its refocusing on business jets, will finally receive $ 275 million in cash, less than the 500 million initially planned. A downward revision which prevented the overall transaction from collapsing and which today allows the Casablanca site to permanently link up with the American Spirit AeroSystems

Spirit AeroSystems, world leader in the manufacture of aerostructures for civil and military aviation, has definitively taken over the Bombardier site in Casablanca, “An operation which will contribute to the development of the Moroccan aeronautical supply chain”, announces the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Green and Digital Economy.

“As announced by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and the Green and Digital Economy, in October 2019, following the decision to sell the Bombardier site in Casablanca, a final agreement was signed between the latter and Spirit AeroSystems and will be operational from October 30th ”, the ministry said in a statement released on Monday.

This takeover follows Bombardier’s strategic decision to refocus its activities on business jets, recalls the ministry, which is satisfied with the completion of the operation.

“The ministry and Spirit Aerosystems have remained in constant contact and have worked together to finalize a smooth and orderly takeover agreement”, advances the ministry of Moulay Hafid Elalamy.

The Bombardier site in Casablanca has undergone an extension increasing its surface area from 10,000m2 to 25,000m2 and increasing its workforce from 350 to 850 employees, the press release said, noting that the challenge for Spirit Aerosystems is to develop its activities with Airbus, to continue to serve Boeing and to strengthen its industrial footprint from the Casablanca site.

The Canadian press, on the other hand, explained that the aircraft manufacturer will finally receive $ 275 million in cash, less than the 500 million initially provided for in the global agreement which concerns the Irish, Moroccan and American factories of Bombardier.

In return, Spirit AeroSystems will assume liabilities – including pension obligations – estimated at $ 824 million compared to approximately $ 700 million previously. Bombardier also says it has been able to renegotiate agreements with the American company, which will become a supplier for its Learjet, Global and Challenger families, to its advantage, when the transaction closes, scheduled for Friday.

“It’s about $ 100 million”, Bombardier spokesperson Olivier Marcil explained to the newspaper on Monday Press, about contracts with Spirit. “You get less money at the start, but you save later. To have fewer liabilities on the shoulders and renegotiated agreements, this brings certainty. “

The sale of the factories of the Quebec company in Belfast, Casablanca and Dallas, which have some 3,300 employees, combined with the sale of Bombardier Transport to Alstom, will bring its refocusing to reality while allowing it to reduce its long-term debt by 9.3 billion dollars as of June 30, explains the same source.

The closing of this operation had almost collapsed due to the Covid-19 crisis which delayed it somewhat, as well as the legal conditions imposed by the US SEC. In the meantime, an important contract with Airbus had to be relocated to the United States …