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Boeing scraps $4.2bln deal to buy Embraer commercial division

26 April 2020, MVT 21:50
(FILES) In this file photo taken on March 12, 2019 the Boeing logo is pictured at the Boeing Renton Factory in Renton, Washington. - Boeing reported on October 23, 2019 a sharp drop in third-quarter earnings due to the 737 MAX grounding, but said it still expects regulatory approval this year to return the plane to service. The aviation giant, which has been in crisis mode following two MAX crashes that killed 346 people, said it "has assumed that regulatory approval of the 737 MAX return to service begins in the fourth quarter of 2019." (Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP)
26 April 2020, MVT 21:50

Boeing announced Saturday it was pulling out of a $4.2 billion deal to acquire the commercial plane division of its Brazilian rival Embraer.

The companies had planned to form a joint venture in which Boeing would take an 80 percent stake in that division. The deal had been due to be finalized no later than Friday.

But Boeing said Saturday it was exercising its right to pull out of a preliminary deal reached in July 2018. It said in a statement, "Embraer did not satisfy the necessary conditions."

"Boeing has worked diligently over more than two years to finalize its transaction with Embraer," said Marc Allen, the Boeing executive who led the joint venture plan.

He said that over the past several months the companies held extensive talks on what he terms unsatisfied conditions in the initial accord.

"We all aimed to resolve those by the initial termination date, but it didn't happen," Allen said, without explaining what the unresolved issues were.

The companies could have kept talking but decided not to.

Boeing is going through exceptionally hard times, between the grounding of its 737 MAX planes for more than a year after two crashes left 346 people dead and the coronavirus pandemic that has severely reduced air travel around the world.

The deal was meant to be a counterweight to industry leader Airbus's buyout of the commercial aviation business of Canadian planemaker Bombardier.

It was to have let Boeing compete with Airbus in the market for medium-haul planes and allow Embraer to benefit from Boeing's powerful presence in the marketplace.

The deal had cleared all regulatory hurdles but was awaiting the green light from the European Commission.

The two companies will continue to work together on a program for a military transport plane called the C-390, Boeing said.

New York, United States | AFP

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