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Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, and satellites worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support services. Boeing is among the largest global aerospace manufacturers; it is the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world based on 2017 revenue and is the largest exporter in the United States by dollar value.
Boeing was incorporated in Seattle by William E. Boeing (1881-1956) as "Pacific Aero Products Co" on 15 July 1916. On 9 May 1917 the company became the "Boeing Airplane Company". In 1929, Boeing merged his company with Pratt & Whitney to form the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) which then set about buying, in just 28 months, Pacific Air Transport, Stout Air Services, Varney Air Lines and National Air Transport, as well as numerous equipment manufacturers at the same time.
The Air Mail Act of 1934 prohibited airlines and manufacturers from being under the same corporate umbrella, so the company split into three smaller companies: Boeing Airplane Company, United Airlines, and United Aircraft Corporation. At the same time Stearman Aircraft Corporation was made a subsidiary of Boeing.
In August 1997, Boeing merged with McDonnell Douglas.
Currently, Boeing is organized into five primary divisions: Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Boeing Defense, Space & Security, Boeing Engineering, Operations & Technology, Boeing Capital and Boeing Shared Services.
After Airbus acquired a majority of the competing Bombardier CSeries on October 16, 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported in December 2017 that Boeing has been in takeover talks with the 18,000 employee strong Embraer, awaiting Brazilian government approbation. On December 22, 2017, Brazilian President Michel Temer said the sale of Embraer to Boeing was "out of the question", adding that the government is in favor of partnerships with the company, but warning that it will veto changes in stock control.
On July 5, 2018, a Memorandum of Understanding was announced for a strategic partnership: Boeing will hold 80% of a joint venture for Embraers's airliners and services, and Embraer will own the remaining 20%. Boeing will control the new company, managed from Brazil and reporting to Boeing, another defense joint venture will market the KC-390. After negotiation of definitive details, shareholder and regulatory approval is expected by the end of 2019.
On 6 December, at the demand of four congressmen of the left-wing Brazilian Workers Party, a Brazilian federal court forbids the regional plane-maker's board of directors to form the joint venture, as that would give away for free the profitable airliner division and would remove it from the Brazilian Government control. The government can veto the joint venture and is reluctant to allow it, but president-elect Jair Bolsonaro, which takes office on the first of January, is favorable to the deal. The following week, the injunction was overturned by a panel of appeals court.
On 17 December, a strategic partnership was announced, subject to Brazilian Government approval, before the definitive transaction subjected to shareholder and regulatory approval. To market the KC-390, another joint venture will be owned for 51% by Embraer and 49% by Boeing, and will also need similar authorizations.
On 20 December, in response to Embraer’s union class action, the same Judge Victor Giuizo Neto blocked again the proposed sale as "The brutal asymmetry in the shareholder structure of this venture prevents it from being carried out without compromising the survival of national interests", an injunction contested by Embraer. On 22 December, the injunction was overturned, allowing the proposed sale to proceed. Federal Court President Therezinha Cazerta said it was outside the court’s purview. On 10 January 2019, the new Brazilian government approved the tie-up as it would "maintain the current jobs in Brazil", while no commitment was made before.
On February 26, 2019, the partnership was approved by Embraer's shareholders. It is to be followed by antitrust reviews in Brazil, the EU, the US and China before a fourth quarter closure. The price paid by Boeing is seen as very favorable to Embraer compared to the amount paid by Airbus for the CSeries.
On May 23, Boeing announced that the division will be known as "Boeing Brasil - Commercial", dropping the Embraer name, but has not yet decided whether to rebrand the aircraft as Boeing models.
On April 24, 2020, Boeing terminated the planned joint ventures, saying that Embraer did not satisfy the conditions established in their agreement. Industry analysts said that the $4.2 billion deal became unbalanced as Embraer's market value fell to less than $1.1 billion as air travel demand dropped as a result of the impact of the 2019-2020 coronavirus pandemic on aviation. Industry analysts speculated that Boeing may have also cancelled the deal because it had recently been awarded a U.S. government pandemic relief loan, and wanted to avoid making the impression that funds intended to support U.S. jobs were instead used to secure a deal with a Brazilian firm. Embraer rejected Boeing's reasons for the termination of the deal and said the company "has manufactured false claims as a pretext to seek to avoid its commitments" because of its financial condition after the 737 MAX groundings and "other business and reputational problems.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes | Boeing Defense, Space & Security
Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey
Boeing 717
Boeing 727
Boeing 737 Original
Boeing 737 Classic
Boeing 737 Next Generation
Boeing 737 MAX
Boeing BBJ
Boeing 747
Boeing 757
Boeing 767
Boeing 777
Boeing 787
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress
Boeing E-3 Sentry
Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker
Boeing KC-767
Boeing CH-47 Chinook
Boeing C-17 Globemaster III
Boeing-Stearman Model 75 "Kaydet"
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