Spirit AeroSystems has completed a divestiture deal with Airbus, handing over multiple critical aerostructure production facilities directly to Airbus ownership as part of a larger corporate restructuring.
The transaction, announced on April 28, 2025, is intended to simplify operations ahead of Spirit's sale to Boeing, which is scheduled to close in the third quarter of this year, pending regulatory approval.
Strategic Asset Transfer
As part of the deal, Airbus will purchase Spirit's facilities, which are currently used to sustain major Airbus programmes. These comprise the Kinston, North Carolina, and St. Nazaire, France, production facilities, both of which produce A350 fuselage sections. The Casablanca, Morocco factory produces components for the A321 and A220, while the Prestwick, Scotland factory produces wing components for the A320 and A350 families.
Apart from this, Airbus will also acquire Spirit's A220 pylon manufacturing facility in Wichita, Kansas, and A220 wing assembly facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland. As an alternative, if no third-party buyer is available, Airbus will also acquire Spirit's A220 mid-fuselage production in Belfast and Airbus-related assets in Subang, Malaysia.
Financial Adjustments, Support
As part of the total agreement, Airbus will grant a non-interest-bearing line of credit of USD$ 200 million to Spirit to assist in financing Airbus program operations during the transition period. Spirit will also pay Airbus approximately US$439 million, with the actual amount adjusted at closing to account for the revised transaction scope compared to the initial 2024 term sheet.
The transformation, according to Airbus, is to secure stable supply chains crucial to its commercial programs and establish a more sustainable future for its newly acquired work packages.
Management Perspective
Over the past decades, Spirit's alliance with Airbus has enabled us to provide aerostructures to their biggest airplane programs," said Irene Esteves, Spirit AeroSystems Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "Signing this agreement represents a major milestone in our process of completing the acquisition of Boeing to the advantage of Spirit, its stockholders, and other stakeholders.".
The deal is a significant reshaping of Spirit's portfolio, refocusing its direction before returning to Boeing.
Boeing’s Parallel Acquisition
In a parallel development, Spirit shareholders approved a Boeing acquisition in February 2025. The US$ 4.7 billion deal will reunite the Wichita-based supplier with its former parent company. Boeing’s move is aimed at consolidating supply chain control and enhancing quality oversight for its commercial programs.
While both the Airbus asset divestiture and the Boeing merger are subject to regulatory clearance, they are anticipated to close concurrently later this year. Once completed, they will represent one of the most significant realignments of aerospace manufacturing supply chains in recent history.
Stay connected at every stop along your journey! Get any Saily mobile data plan at 5% off with the code AIRWAYSMAG5 + up to 5GB free!
Find out more in our latest issue. Explore all the subscriptions plans that Airways has for you. From thrilling stories to insights into the commercial aviation industry. We are a global review of commercial flight.
Exploring Airline History Volume I
.webp)
David H. Stringer, the History Editor for AIRWAYS Magazine, has chronicled the story of the commercial aviation industry with his airline history articles that have appeared in AIRWAYS over two decades. Here, for the first time, is a compilation of those articles.
Subjects A through C are presented in this first of three volumes. Covering topics such as the airlines of Alaska at the time of statehood and Canada's regional airlines of the 1960s, the individual histories of such carriers as Allegheny, American, Braniff, and Continental are also included in Volume One. Get your copy today!
May 2025
