Boeing terminated its two-year-old, $4.2 billion agreement to acquire the commercial operations of Embraer, a leading regional-jet manufacturer based in Brazil, as Friday’s deadline for sealing the deal passed.
- In a news release, Boeing said it wasn’t able to resolve “unsatisfied” conditions for going through with the deal, which was aimed at countering a similar Airbus-Bombardier partnership on regional jets. “It is deeply disappointing,” said Marc Allen, president of Embraer Partnership & Group Operations.
- Embraer countered by saying that Boeing “wrongfully terminated” the transaction and manufactured “false claims” to get out of the deal, due to financial troubles brought on by the 737 MAX grounding and other setbacks. “Embraer will pursue all remedies against Boeing for the damages incurred by Embraer as a result of Boeing’s wrongful termination,” the Brazilian planemaker said today in a news release.
- The collapse of the deal, and the resulting fallout, adds to the challenges facing Boeing as it seeks to recover from the 737 MAX crisis as well as the financial repercussions of the coronavirus outbreak. Boeing has called for $60 billion in additional public and private funding for the aerospace manufacturing industry, but it hasn’t yet announced what kind of federal assistance it’ll seek.