Yahoo Finance Airbus takes majority stake in Bombardier's C Series programme
European aerospace giant Airbus has agreed to buy a majority stake in Bombardier's C Series aircraft programme, just weeks after it emerged the US was looking to impose heavy tariffs on the jets.
Under the partnership, Airbus will take a 50.01pc stake in the programme, and Bombardier and Investissement Quebec will own 31pc and 19pc respectively.
Over the past month, Canada-based Bombardier has been hit with a series of trade tariffs in the US totalling 300pc on the sale of its C Series airliners to US carrier Delta.
The tariffs follow complaints from Boeing that Bombardier “dumped” the aircraft at “absurdly low” prices to secure the sale of up to 125 jets, though this prompted strong criticism from both the Canadian and UK governments. Both had been thought to be considering hitting back at Boeing by withholding defence work.
Business Secretary Greg Clark said on Tuesday he welcomed the Airbus deal, saying the UK would work closely with the firms to protect its interests.
"There is some way to go before the deal is completed and our number-one priority throughout will be the workforce in Northern Ireland," Mr Clark said, adding that Britain would also continue to work with Canada to end Bombardier's costly trade dispute with Boeing.
Prior to the announcement, it had been understood that Bombardier was considering a number of options including a sale of its Q400 turboprop and CRJ jet regional airliners, although some had suggested that talks could reignite between Airbus and Bombardier.
The pair had been in discussions over the C Series jets in 2015.
In a press call late on Monday, Airbus chief executive Tom Enders said the fresh discussions "started basically in August and we've been extremely fast... and the teams worked very well together and, no, this is not motivated by anything competitors were doing.
"It was motivated by the sheer recognition that the stars were all aligned this time," Mr Enders said.
Although the headquarters for the C Series jets will remain in Montreal, the pair said a second assembly line would also be set up in Alabama, in the US, to serve American customers.
Mr Enders said the partnership would secure "the C Series and its industrial operations in Canada, the UK and China".
Bombardier currently employs 5,000 staff in Belfast, where the wings for the C Series jets are made.
When asked whether the new production line in the US would mean jobs shifting away from other sites, the pair said rather than shifting manufacturing, they were looking to increase production instead.
The deal between the two firms, which is expected to close in the middle of next year, is subject to regulatory approval.
