Airbus would be about to announce the purchase of Bombardier’s stake in the A220 commercial jet program. The information was confirmed by two different sources, according to Reuters, who revealed that the deal is expected to be released next week.
In January, Bombardier had already signaled that it has no resources to invest in the program, a condition provided for in the agreement with Airbus. In 2018, the Canadian company sold the C Series to the European planemaker for the symbolic price of one Canadian dollar.
The Canadian group is in a precarious financial position, with debts of $ 9 billion and has been divesting its assets in aviation. In addition to the 33.6% stake in A220, Bombardier has its executive aviation division and whose sale to Textron was considered in recent days.
According to the news agency, Airbus is expected to take Bombardier’s stake, with just over 16% of Quebec’s ownership program remaining. The Canadian provincial government has also said it will no longer invest, after disbursing $ 1 billion in an attempt to preserve some 2,700 jobs.
Rising sales
In the hands of Airbus, the A220 program gained momentum, with production reaching 14 planes per month, 10 of them at Mirabel, at the Bombardier plant, and four at Mobile, in the US.
The European manufacturer has also improved the project to reduce its costs and expand its flight envelope. But to achieve its goal, more investment will be needed, which is only feasible if the company controls the program.
Since taking over the project, Airbus has delivered 107 units of the A220 and has accumulated 658 orders for the two variants of the jet, the A220-100 and the A220-300.
