Airbus has finalised its long-awaited deal with Spirit AeroSystems on April 28, 2025.
Both Airbus and Spirt detailed that the European OEM will take ownership of various assets of Spirit. This includes sites for the A350 fuselage sections in both North Carolina and France. In addition, Airbus will own the Wichita site, which produces the A220 pylons and the Belfast site, which produces the wings for the A220.
Airbus will take over the A220 mid-fuselage production in Belfast if Spirit is unable to find another buyer.
Airbus will take ownership of the Casablanca site, which produces components for both the A321 and A220 aircraft. Furthermore, the company will acquire the production of wing components for the A320 and A350 in Prestwick, Scotland. Spirit intends to sell the site of Subang, Malaysia to a third-party owner.
Spirit will compensate Airbus with a $439 million payment. Airbus also agreed to provide Spirit AeroSystems non-interest bearing lines of credit worth $200 million to support the Airbus programmes at Spirit.
“For many years, Spirit's collaboration with Airbus allowed us to deliver aerostructures for some of their most important aircraft programmes,” said Spirit EVP and CFO Irene Esteves. “Entering into this agreement is a significant milestone as we work towards the closing of the Boeing acquisition, to the benefit of Spirit, its stockholders and other stakeholders.”
Spirit is to be acquired by Airbus' US rival Boeing later this year. The US OEM had spun off Spirit in 2005 before announcing in 2024 it would bring the company back into the fold for $4.7bn in stock.
The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025.