Based in Montreal and Berlin, Bombardier Inc. is a multinational manufacturer of regional airliners, business jets, and equipment for public transport. The Bombardier Aviation division makes aircrafts, which includes Business Jets such as the Bombardier Challenger Family 350 as well as Commercial Jets such as the Bombardier CRJ700 series. The Bombardier Transportation division produces a wide range of rail equipment related products including passenger rail vehicles, locomotives and bogies etc.

By selling off its weaker performing commercial plane division, it hopes to focus on its profitable business jets and passenger rail cars. Proceeds from the sale will go to reducing its debt. Bombardier will continue to assemble its regional jet planes (CRJ), but will stop making the aircraft in the second half of 2020, after it finishes delivering on its remaining backlog of 42 orders.

Under the agreement, the Japanese firm will take over $200 million in liabilities, but receive Bombardier’s estimated $180 million interest in a financing structure it created to support aircraft leasing.

The deal is expected to heavily benefit Mitsubishi, which has plans to exploit the Canadian company’s support network and global customer list to rejuvenate its delayed efforts to conquer the jet market.

For example, CRJ’s profitable aftermarket sales, engineering expertise and heavy maintenance centers in the United States, would be useful for Mitsubishi, which is trying to develop and certify its delayed regional jet program, the MRJ, which has been rebranded as “SpaceJet.”

The Japanese firm is trying to certify the plane, which has been delayed by several years with its first customer, ANA Holdings Inc. It now expects delivery in 2020 rather than in 2013 as originally planned.

“One of the strongest barriers to entry is the ability to build the relationships with customers and the support network to keep those relationships moving,” Alex Bellamy, chief development officer of Mitsubishi Aircraft, told Reuters.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeremybogaisky/2019/06/25/bombardiers-crj-likely-hits-end-of-the-line-in-550-million-sale-to-mitsubishi-heavy/#163e676d3af4