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DALLAS (AP) — Boeing is in talks to buy Spirit AeroSystems, which builds airframes for Boeing. 737 Max Aircraftincluding the one who suffered a door panel explosion in January, according to a person familiar with the discussions.
The timing of a deal — or whether the two sides will even reach a final agreement — is uncertain, according to the person, who spoke about the private talks on condition of anonymity.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report on the talks. The newspaper said Friday that Spirit hired bankers to consider strategic options and held preliminary talks about a sale back to Boeing, its former owner.
boeing and AeroSystems Spirit He declined to comment.
Spirit shares rose 15% in afternoon trading.
A deal could help Boeing respond to critics who have blamed the company. manufacturing problems largely in outsourcing key jobs to Spirit and other suppliers.
Boeing spun off Spirit in 2005 as part of a strategy to outsource the supply chain for its commercial aircraft. In recent years, quality problems have piled up on the Spirit, including fuselage panels that didn’t fit together precisely enough and holes that weren’t drilled correctly. Those and other defects delayed deliveries of the Boeing 737 and 787.
Spirit dismissed its CEO in October and replaced him with Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive who served as acting defense secretary in the Trump administration.
Scrutiny of Spirit, which is not related to Spirit Airlines, grew even stronger after an emergency plug in a door came loose. an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 over Oregon on January 5.
Investigators said the panel had been removed at a Boeing factory to allow Spirit workers to repair damaged rivets and bolts that help hold the panel in place. they were missing after repair work. It is unclear who removed the screws and did not replace them.
Two weeks later, Boeing CEO David Calhoun toured the Spirit factory in Wichita, Kansas. Calhoun and Shanahan committed to working together to improve manufacturing quality. Shanahan said Spirit would work with Boeing, regulators and airlines, and promised, “We will restore trust.”
Calhoun has long defended Boeing outsourcing, but his tone has changed in recent weeks. On January 31, when Boeing reported a fourth-quarter loss, Calhoun said that Outsourcing probably went too far.
About 70% of Spirit AeroSystems’ revenue last year came from work done for Boeing, according to Spirit’s latest annual report. This represents an increase from 60% two years earlier. Most of the company’s other revenue comes from manufacturing parts for Airbus, Boeing’s European rival.
Spirit is also studying the possibility of selling operations in Ireland that make parts for Airbus, the Journal reported.
Spirit lost $616 million last year and has not made a profit for the entire year since 2019. Since then, it has lost more than $2.5 billion. Boeing agreed in October to give more financial help for Spirit. Boeing said it would provide $100 million to Spirit to remodel its factory and adjust prices to give the supplier another $455 million over two years.
Boeing has its own manufacturing problems. This week, the Federal Aviation Administration gave the company 90 days to file a plan to improve quality and to address safety concerns raised by a panel of experts who spent a year studying Boeing.
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