MONTREAL,June 25 (Xinhua) -- Canada's Bombardier Inc. announced Tuesday to sell its regional jet program to Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
Bombardier President and Chief Executive Officer Alain Bellemare said the signed agreement with Mitsubishi represents the completion of the transformation of the Montreal-based company's aerospace business.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
Under the agreement, Mitsubishi will pay 550 million U.S. dollars in cash and assume about 200 million U.S. dollars worth of debt and other liabilities related to the CRJ, an acronym for the Canadair Regional Jet.
The agreement stipulates that the Japanese manufacturer take over the maintenance, support, refurbishment, marketing and sales activities for the jets, including services and support facilities in Montreal and Toronto in Canada and Bridgeport and Tucson in the United States.
However, the CRJ production facility in Mirabel, Canada, will remain with Bombardier, which needs that facility and its workers to continue to supply spare parts and manufacture the jets until the sales backlog of 42 jets has been cleared, which is expected to last until the second half of next year.
