Boeing Co. is interested in buying supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which is at the center of several of the recent quality problems at the aerospace and defense company, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the negotiations.
Spirit AeroSystems
SPR,
did not immediately return a request for comment about a potential deal. Boeing
BA,
said it doesn’t have “anything to add.”
Shares of Spirit Aero jumped 16% in midday trading Friday. According to the report, Spirit, headquartered in Wichita, Kan., has hired bankers to explore options.
Spirit AeroSystems made the fuselage involved in the Alaska Airlines mid-air panel blowout last month.
A preliminary report earlier this month found that bolts were missing. Aviation regulators this week gave Boeing 90 days to come up with plan to improve safety and quality problems.
Additional measures are likely to be required as part of the safety review, RBC analyst Ken Herbert said in a note earlier this week.
The implications for Boeing are likely lower first half of 2024 deliveries, Herbert said. Through Thursday, Boeing and European rival Airbus
AIR,
have made 23 and 32 aircraft deliveries, respectively, the analyst said.
Last year, Boeing and Spirit disclosed a few problems involving the 737 Max jets, which slowed production.
In the last 12 months, shares of Boeing fell 1.8% and shares of Spirit AeroSystems dropped 4.5%. That contrasts with gains of around 30% for the S&P 500 index
SPX
in the same timeframe.
This post was originally published on Market Watch
