Boeing aircraft plants in 2 states are sold

WICHITA, Kan. — Boeing Co. is selling its commercial aircraft plants in Kansas and Oklahoma to a Canadian-based investment group, part of the aerospace giant's strategy to focus on design and final assembly.

Onex Corp. on Tuesday agreed to buy Boeing's commercial aircraft facility in Wichita, along with plants in Tulsa and McAlester, Okla., for $900 million cash and the assumption of $300 million in liabilities. Chicago-based Boeing has been trying to sell the plants for more than a year.

"There have been terrible job losses at these plants over the last several years. We confidently believe that can be reversed," Seth Mersky, a managing director of Toronto-based Onex, said in a statement.

Separately, Boeing announced the sale of its Rocketdyne rocket engine subsidiary to United Technologies Corp., parent of jet-engine maker Pratt & Whitney, for about $700 million cash. Rocketdyne, based in Canoga Park, Calif., has sites and assets in California, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida and 3,000 employees.

Onex's new aerospace company, which has yet to be named, would include members of Boeing management. Also undecided is how many Boeing workers would be hired at the new company — those decisions are still awaiting negotiations with union officials.

Boeing is Kansas' largest private employer; about 7,200 people work at the Wichita commercial plant, along with as many as 1,300 at the two smaller facilities in Oklahoma.

Boeing's defense operations in Wichita, which employ approximately 5,000 workers, are not involved in the sale.

The Onex deal includes long-term agreements for the company to provide Boeing with parts — including fuselage sections and wing elements — on four of Boeing's existing planes and the new 787 Dreamliner, the company's next-generation jet. Mersky said Onex plans to invest $1 billion in Kansas and Oklahoma in the next five years and plans to seek business with other aircraft makers.

"If (Onex) can get additional business, which undoubtedly they should, they'll be adding to employment," said Paul Nisbet, an analyst with JSA Research. He expects the deal to lower Boeing's production costs. "I think everybody wins."

Boeing officials said the company had received bids from several interested parties.