Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems have reportedly agreed to terms under which Boeing will acquire the struggling Wichita-based aerostructures supplier for $37.25 per share.
Reuters reports that the boards of both companies met on 30 June and agreed to terms of an all-stock transaction that values Spirit at $4.7 billion.
The 30 June Reuters’ report cited unnamed sources and said the companies intend to disclose the deal on 1 July. Spirit’s stock closed at about $32.80 per share on Friday.
Neither Boeing nor Spirit responded to requests for comment. Boeing had previously owned Spirit, having spun off the operation in 2005.
The acquisition terms reportedly involve splitting up Spirit, which has long been deemed by observers as a prerequisite for Boeing to acquire the supplier. Airbus is set to take over some of Spirit’s operation, Reuters says.
Spirit’s Airbus business includes a site in Kinston, North Carolina that makes A350 centre-fuselage sections, a facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland that makes A220 wings, and facilities in Prestwick, UK and Saint-Nazaire, France.
Boeing in March revealed it was considering acquiring Spirit as a means to help address the supplier’s many production issues.
The move came as Boeing faced intense criticism and heightened scrutiny following the 5 January in-flight blow out of a 737 Max 9’s mid-cabin door plug.
Boeing has said its workers opened and then failed to properly secure the plug prior to delivering the jet, but an upstream problem involving defective rivets in the jet’s Spirit-made fuselage contributed to the issue.
