Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. has announced that Spirit has entered into a definitive agreement with Airbus SE to transfer ownership of certain assets and sites involved in the production of Airbus aerostructures to Airbus. The divestiture of these assets is expected to close concurrently with Spirit’s previously announced acquisition by The Boeing Company. Both transactions are subject to regulatory approvals, among other closing conditions, and are expected to close in the third quarter of 2025.
At the closing of this transaction, Airbus will take ownership of the following Spirit assets:
- the site of Kinston, North Carolina, U.S. (A350 fuselage sections);
- the site of St. Nazaire, France (A350 fuselage sections);
- the site of Casablanca, Morocco (A321 and A220 components);
- the production of components for the A320 and A350 wings in Prestwick, Scotland;
- the production of A220 pylons in Wichita, Kansas, U.S.;
- the production of A220 wings in Belfast, Northern Ireland; and
- if a suitable buyer is not identified for the remainder of the Belfast site, the production of the A220 mid-fuselage.
The assets in Subang, Malaysia related to Airbus programs will also be acquired by Airbus if no suitable buyer is identified before the closing of the transaction. Airbus will also acquire the production of wing components for the A320 and A350 in Prestwick, Scotland.
The compensation amount has been adjusted to reflect this revised transaction perimeter, in line with the provisions of the binding term sheet agreement announced on 1 July 2024. Airbus will be compensated by payment of $439 million from Spirit AeroSystems, subject to certain adjustments at closing. The conditions and financial impact of this agreement are in line with the EBIT Adjusted and Free Cash Flow before Customer Financing preliminary estimates included in Airbus’ 2025 guidance, as issued on 20 February 2025. With this operation, Airbus aims to ensure the stability of supply for its commercial aircraft programmes through a more sustainable way forward, both operationally and financially, for key Airbus work packages. Closing of the transaction and the official transfer of operations is planned in the third quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory and other customary approvals.
Airbus has also entered into a memorandum of agreement with Spirit AeroSystems, under which Airbus has agreed to, among other things, provide Spirit AeroSystems non-interest bearing lines of credit in an aggregate amount of $200 million, which will be used by Spirit AeroSystems to support Airbus programmes.
