By Chelsey Dulaney
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc. said Tuesday that it has agreed
to transfer its Tulsa wing-part assembly business to Triumph Group
Inc., after searching for a buyer for the costly site for more than
a year.
Under the terms of the transfer, which includes both the G650
and G280 Gulfstream wing programs, Spirit will make a $160 million
cash payment to Triumph. The transfer carries and estimated loss of
$205 million to $235 million for Spirit, but is expected to
generate a cash tax benefit of $220 million to $230 million.
The plant fabricates wing parts for Gulfstream Aerospace Corp.,
a unit of General Dynamics Corp., but has been hurt by cost
overruns. Like Boeing Co., Gulfstream has also recently moved the
design and manufacture of some of its wings in-house in a move to
speed development.
Spirit announced plans to sell the plant, along with another
Oklahoma facility, in August 2013 after a strategic review of its
operations under Chief Executive Larry Lawson, who took over the
previous April.
Spirit received a surprising amount of interest in the sites,
Mr. Lawson said in November 2013.
Meanwhile, Spirit has continued to aggressively cut its internal
costs and on Tuesday said it would evaluate the remaining work at
its other Tulsa programs.
"There are a number of factors to take into consideration,
including exploring our options within the community and with other
constituents who have approached us. We won't rush the evaluation
and will provide an update as soon as we are ready," Mr. Lawson
said in a statement.
Triumph, for its part, estimates that the Gulfstream programs
will immediately add to its per-share earnings and could contribute
about $250 million in annual revenue.
The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com
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