Bombardier sells C Series stake for $591M, now out of commercial aviation
By CP STAFF
Industry Aerospace Manufacturing A220 aerospace airbus Bombardier c-series manufacturing QuebecTransferred shares to Airbus SE and the Quebec government in a move to emerge from more than $9 billion in debt.
PHOTO: Delta’s first Airbus A220/via Delta News Hub
MONTREAL — Bombardier Inc. is completing its exit from commercial aviation as the plane-and-train maker sells its remaining stake in the A220 jetliner for nearly $600 million.
Bombardier says it has entered into an agreement with Airbus SE and the Quebec government in which the company has transferred its shares to Airbus and the province, its latest move to emerge from more than $9 billion in debt.
The deal increases Airbus’s share in the A220 program to 75% from just over 50%, while Quebec’s stake rises to 25% from 16%.
In exchange, the agreement hands Bombardier US$591 million, including US$531 million immediately.
The company says work packages for the A220 and A330 single-aisle planes will be transferred to Airbus through the Europe-based aircraft giant’s subsidiary Stelia Aerospace, securing 360 jobs in Quebec.
The news comes as Bombardier reported a loss of US$1.61 billion for 2019 as rumours continue to swirl around the potential sale of one of its two main divisions later this year.
Bombardier says that in 2016 _ the year before it sold a controlling stake to Airbus _ its commercial aerospace segment lost about US$400 million and was consuming roughly $1 billion in cash.
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