(Reuters) - European planemaker Airbus SE (AIR.PA) has finalized a rescue deal for Bombardier Inc’s (BBDb.TO) CSeries jet and is expected to flex its cost-cutting and marketing muscle to revive the money-losing Canadian venture.
Bombardier agreed in October to sell Airbus a 50.01 percent stake in its flagship commercial jet for a token fee of one Canadian dollar, after sluggish sales and low production rates pushed the program well over budget.
Airbus will be able to offer airlines deals by packaging the CSeries with its own jets in a challenge to rival Boeing Co (BA.N) and is expected to use its industrial power to slash the price of parts and improve efficiencies internally.
After winning regulatory approvals and agreeing on the fine print of the deal late on Thursday, the two companies said they were ready to start the new tie-up formally on July 1.
The deal’s completion finalizes a historic shift in the aircraft industry, with 75-year-old Bombardier abandoning its standalone bid to enter the main jet market dominated by Airbus and Boeing, in exchange for a stake in a stronger project.
Boeing is now holding its own tie-up talks with Bombardier’s Brazilian rival Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA).
Bombardier will retain 31 percent in the CSeries while Investissement Quebec, run by the province of Quebec, will hold 19 percent.
The deal is also expected to mark the end of the CSeries branding chosen when Bombardier launched the jet a decade ago, though Airbus said it had not yet
