FTC OKs Boeing’s Spirit Aero Purchase
The Boeing Co. has indicated it anticipates completing its $8.3-billion takeover of Spirit AeroSystems before the end of 2025 following a notice of approval by the Federal Trade Commission. The approval comes with several provisions requiring divestment of several Spirit Aero holdings in order, the federal body stated, to address antitrust concerns in the commercial and military aircraft markets.
“American commercial travelers and our military deserve to fly on dependable aircraft, manufactured with reliable components,” FTC Bureau of Competition principal deputy director David J. Shaw stated. “The Trump-Vance FTC’s action today protects aircraft manufacturing competition to ensure that Americans across the country can continue to access high-quality aircraft to reach their next destination.”
The FTC’s stipulations are nearly the same ones issued by the European Commission when it authorized the takeover in October, and are in line with the separation of assets agreed by Boeing and Airbus in 2024.
The assets involved are various operations that supply aerostructures to Airbus for its A350, A320, and A220 programs, and a composite aerostructures plant in Malaysia.
Airbus has agreed to buy the first, and Boeing reportedly has a buyer in place for the second.
Spirit AeroSystems manufactures fuselage structures for the Boeing 737 MAX and 787 Dreamliner, among other aircraft programs. It has been linked to multiple quality defects in Boeing aircraft over recent years, most notably the January incident in which the sidedoor plug of a 737 MAX 9 jet was blown open during a flight.
That incident, preceded by numerous delivery and quality control problems with Spirit AeroSystems prompted Boeing to pursue the takeover. Spirit Aero is a onetime Boeing subsidiary that was spun-off in 2005. The independent organization subsequently acquired assets from Bombardier, Applied Aerodynamics, and BAE Systems, which gained it a wider customer base.
"By reintegrating Spirit, we can fully align our commercial production systems, including our Safety and Quality Management Systems, and our workforce to the same priorities, incentives and outcomes – centered on safety and quality," former Boeing president and CEO Dave Calhoun stated in July 2024, when the acquisition was announced.