Boeing has gone back to the future and has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Spirit AeroSystems to bring the company back under its control.
Spirit was formed when Boeing sold its Wichita factory along with facilities in Tulsa to investment firm Onex Corporation in 2005.
The merger is an all-stock transaction at an equity value of approximately $4.7 billion, or $37.25 per share. The total transaction value is approximately $8.3 billion, including Spirit's last reported net debt.
Each share of Spirit common stock will be exchanged for several shares of Boeing common stock equal to an exchange ratio between 0.18 and 0.25, calculated as $37.25 divided by the volume weighted average share price of Boeing shares over the 15-trading-day period ending on the second trading day prior to the closing (subject to a floor of $149.00 per share and a ceiling of $206.94 per share). Spirit shareholders will receive 0.25 Boeing shares for each of their Spirit shares if the volume-weighted average price is at or below $149.00, and 0.18 Boeing shares for each of their Spirit shares if the volume-weighted average price is at or above $206.94.
"We believe this deal is in the best interest of the flying public, our airline customers, the employees of Spirit and Boeing, our shareholders and the country more broadly," said Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun. "By reintegrating Spirit, we can fully align our commercial production systems, including our Safety and Quality Management Systems, and our workforce to the same priorities, incentives and outcomes – centered on safety and quality."
Boeing's acquisition of Spirit will include substantially all Boeing-related commercial operations, as well as additional commercial, defense and aftermarket operations. As part of the transaction, Boeing will work with Spirit to ensure the continuity of operations supporting Spirit's customers and programs it acquires, including working with the U.S. Department of Defense and Spirit defense customers regarding defense and security missions.
"We are proud of the role Boeing plays in supporting our men and women in uniform and are committed to ensuring continuity for Spirit's defense programs," said Calhoun.
Airbus SE and Spirit have also entered into a binding term sheet under which Airbus will acquire, assuming the parties entered into definitive agreements and receipt of any required regulatory approvals, certain commercial work packages that Spirit performs for Airbus concurrently with the closing of the Boeing-Spirit merger. In addition, Spirit is proposing to sell certain of its operations, including those in Belfast, Northern Ireland (non-Airbus operations), Prestwick, Scotland, and Subang, Malaysia. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2025 and is subject to the sale of the Spirit operations related to certain Airbus commercial work packages and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including regulatory and Spirit shareholder approvals.
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