The Federal Trade Commission has directed The Boeing Company to divest several Spirit AeroSystems assets as a condition for completing its $8.3 billion acquisition of Spirit. The FTC stated that the divestitures are necessary to protect competition in aircraft manufacturing, a sector important to commercial travel and national security. David J. Shaw, Principal Deputy Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition, said, “American commercial travelers and our military deserve to fly on dependable aircraft, manufactured with reliable components.” The action addresses concerns involving Spirit’s role as the largest independent supplier of aerostructures, including fuselages and wings.
Under the proposed consent order, Boeing must divest Spirit businesses that supply aerostructures to Airbus, transferring all related assets and personnel to Airbus SE. Boeing must also divest Spirit’s Subang, Malaysia, facility to Composites Technology Research Malaysia. The FTC alleges that without these measures, Boeing would gain the ability to raise costs or reduce Airbus’s access to key inputs and obtain sensitive competitor information. The order requires Boeing and Spirit to maintain supply commitments for military programs and prohibits discriminatory practices against competing contractors. The FTC worked with regulators in the European Union, the UK, and the U.S. Department of War.
