Mitsubishi closes acquisition of Bombardier’s CRJ line

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has taken formal ownership of the CRJ Regional Jet line from Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) following the closure of the sale agreement on June 1. The transaction was undertaken through the Japanese conglomerate’s wholly-owned Canadian subsidiary, MHI RJ Aviation Group (MHIRJ), for a cash consideration of approximately CAD550 million Canadian dollars (USD400 million), subject to post-closing adjustments and MHI’s assumption of liabilities of approximately CAD200 million (USD145.7 million) related to credit and residual value guarantees and lease subsidies. Headquartered in Montréal, Canada, MHI RJ Aviation Group (MHIRJ) will oversee the CRJ programme’s maintenance, engineering, airworthiness certification support, refurbishment, asset management, marketing, and sales activities, along with its type certificates and related intellectual property rights. The transaction also includes the related services and support network mainly located in Mirabel and Toronto (Canada), and Bridgeport and Tucson (United States). CRJ Series spare parts will continue to be distributed from depots in Chicago (United States) and Frankfurt (Germany).