Summary Kelly Ortberg visited Spirit AeroSystems facilities recently after taking on the role of Boeing's CEO. Boeing plans to reacquire Spirit AeroSystems, but uncertainty remains around the fate of the company's defense work. Spirit AeroSystems will be acquired by Boeing in a $4.
7 billion all-stock deal, which is expected to be finalized sometime next year. Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, recently visited Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita, Kansas, as he embarks on the journey to lead the company and steer it in the right direction. Boeing will soon reacquire Spirit AeroSystems, but questions about the fate of the company’s defense work remain.
Kelly Ortberg visits Spirits AeroSystems Boeing’s new CEO, Kelly Ortberg, was invited by US Senator for Kansas Jerry Moran to visit Spirit AeroSystems' facilities in Wichita. Ortberg was recently named the top boss of the plane manufacturer and is expected to iron out the company’s issues. Moran met Ortberg and chair of the company board Steven Mollenkopf and walked them through the Wichita plant as well as WSU Tech’s National Center for Aviation Training.
According to The Wichita Eagle , Moran’s intention was to emphasize to Ortberg the importance of Wichita to Boeing. Spirit AeroSystems is expected to be taken over by Boeing soon. This will be one of many tasks and duties that Ortberg will have to oversee and successfully handle in the coming months and years to rebuild the company’s business, reputation, and culture.
Questions over Spirit’s defense work The acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems by Boeing involves several considerations, as Spirit has diversified its business over the years to include other aerospace companies in the list of clients it serves, including Boeing’s European rival, Airbus. Another point of uncertainty is regarding the company’s defense work for various companies and how the new deal with Boeing could affect it and the workforce involved with those projects. Moran spoke with Ortberg regarding that and said that Boeing intends to retain all of Spirit’s defense work.
The Wichita Eagle quotes him as saying, “They indicated to me, they want to keep all that defense work that’s at Spirit at Boeing. That’s their goal. I asked them, if there are circumstances where companies are unable or unwilling to do that, then would you support our efforts to make sure that workforce stays in Wichita or in Kansas? And they committed to doing that as well.
” Moran also highlighted that it's his personal mission to keep the 1,500 to 2,000 Spirit employees who work on defense deals in Kansas and that it would be unfortunate if they were to leave. Boeing to acquire Spirit AeroSystems soon Boeing is all set to acquire Spirit AeroSystems in an all-stock agreement valued at $4.7 billion.
That’s not all, the plane manufacturer will also take on Spirit’s net debt, which will shoot the value of the entire deal to $8.3 billion. Airbus, which also gives significant business to Spirit, such as the production of airplane parts for the A350 and A220, has also entered into a binding term sheet agreement with the company to ensure the continuity of those programs.
Recently, Spirit AeroSystems reported a $455 million loss during the second quarter of 2024 . Its net loss for the first half of the year was $1.03 billion, with cash reserves of $206 million as of June 27, as opposed to a reserve of $824 million in December 2023.
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