Boeing , in Strategic Shift, to Sell Commercial-Plane Plants to Onex
Boeing Co. agreed to sell its commercial-aircraft factories in Kansas and Oklahoma to Onex Corp. of Canada for $900 million, marking a strategic shift as the Chicago aerospace giant seeks to cut production costs and focus on engineering and final-assembly work rather than manufacturing.
Boeing's defense unit announced separately yesterday that it agreed to sell its Rocketdyne rocket-engine business to United Technologies Corp.'s Pratt & Whitney division for about $700 million. The sale, which is subject to regulatory approval, would accelerate the consolidation of the financially troubled commercial and government rocket business. Boeing will continue to make rockets and satellites.
The commercial-aircraft deal has broader significance because, if approved by labor unions and government regulators, it would be the first time Boeing hands control of major production facilities to an outside company. The plants in Wichita, Kan., and Tulsa and McAlester, Okla., will continue producing the fuselage for Boeing's 737 airliner as well as cockpit sections and engine cowlings for most of the company's other jetliners. The facilities, known as the Wichita/Tulsa division, will also be a major supplier for Boeing's future 787 Dreamliner airplane.
The deal entails "long-term supply agreements that provide Boeing ongoing cash savings," the company said. Onex will also assume some $300 million of liabilities.
Under the agreement with Onex, a private-equity group based in Toronto, the Wichita/Tulsa division also will be able to seek business from other companies, such as Airbus, Boeing's archrival. Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. has been aggressively scouting U.S. facilities for production.
Onex plans to invest some $1 billion over five years to prepare for business from Boeing and other companies, said Seth Mersky, one of Onex's two managing directors. The other managing director, Nigel Wright, said boosting output through non-Boeing contracts would lower costs and enable the addition of jobs. The current work force is about 9,000 people, and Onex's goal "is to get it back to 18,000," he said.
Boeing , which was advised on the deal by Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said a number of companies expressed interest in the Wichita/Tulsa division, but Onex won because of its track record of turning internal divisions into competitive stand-alone companies. Boeing's management team in Wichita, led by Jeff Turner, is to continue running the company, whose new name hasn't been determined.
Throughout the company, Boeing is shifting away from the production of simpler components with high-cost labor. Boeing has been trying to position itself as a company whose strengths are in big-picture engineering and final integration of subassemblies produced by suppliers. In the past three years, these measures have helped the company halve the final assembly time of some of its airplanes.
The Onex sale is expected to close during the second quarter, and Boeing said it expects to recognize a noncash loss attributable to the transfer of pension-related assets and liabilities. The deal doesn't include Boeing's defense operations in Wichita and Oklahoma, which involve the conversion of commercial aircraft for military use.
波音公司出售商用飞机生产厂
波音公司(Boeing Co., BA)同意将堪萨斯和俄克拉荷马的商用飞机制造厂出售给加拿大的Onex Corp.，售价9亿美元。这家位于芝加哥的航空业巨头正在进行战略调整，致力于降低生产成本，放手飞机制造业务，专注于发展工程和飞机制造的末期装配。
波音公司国防业务部门昨天另外还宣布将Rocketdyne火箭引擎业务以7亿美元的价格出售给联合技术公司(United Technologies Corp., UTX)旗下的普拉特惠特尼公司(Pratt & Whitney)。这项还有待监管机构批准的交易，将加快波音公司对陷入财务困境的商用和政府火箭业务的整合。但波音公司仍将继续制造火箭和卫星。
波音出售商用飞机制造业务的交易具有重要意义。一旦该交易获得工会和政府监管机构的批准，这将是波音第一次将主要制造厂的控制权转让给其他公司。
