Tag: joint (Page 5 of 8)

Embraer Delivers 198 Total Jets in 2019

February 19, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Embraer (ERJ) delivered a total of 198 jets in 2019, of which 89 were commercial aircraft and 109 were executive jets (62 light and 47 large), which represents an increase of 9% compared to 2018, when the Company delivered a total of 181 jets. The deliveries were within the outlook ranges for 2019 of 85 to 95 for the commercial aviation market and of 90 to 110 for the business aviation market. In the fourth quarter of 2019, Embraer delivered 81 jets, being 35 commercial aircraft and 46 executive jets (20 light and 26 large). As of December 31, the firm order backlog totaled USD 16.8 billion. See details below:

Deliveries by Segment	4Q19	2019

*Commercial Aviation*	35	89
EMBRAER 175 (E175)	22	67
EMBRAER 190 (E190)	2	5
EMBRAER 195 (E195)	1	3
EMBRAER 190-E2 (E190-E2)	4	7
EMBRAER 195-E2 (E195-E2)	6	7

*Executive Aviation*	46	109
Phenom 100	4	11
Phenom 300	16	51
Light Jets	20	62
Legacy 650	3	5
Legacy 450	10	15
Legacy 500	5	11
Praetor 500	3	3
Praetor 600	5	13
Large Jets	26	47

TOTAL	81	198

In the fourth quarter of 2019, Embraer delivered the first Praetor 500 business jet to Flexjet, a global leader in private jet travel, just over one year after its announcement at the 2018 National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE).

Embraer also announced the expansion of its Executive Jets Service Center at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (KFLL), expanding its service capacity through a lease agreement with Jetscape Services for a dedicated hangar. Embraer’s presence in Florida is strategic for its Executive Jets customers throughout the Southern United States, the Caribbean and Central America as well as for those whose travel frequently brings them through South Florida.

In the same period, Embraer delivered the second KC-390 Millennium to the Brazilian Air Force and the contract with the Portuguese Government for a firm order for five KC-390 airlifters was included in Embraer’s backlog in the fourth quarter of 2019.

At the Dubai Air Show, Embraer announced the name and designation of its multi-mission medium aircraft, the Embraer C-390 Millennium. The new designation reflects increased flexibility and value for operators that look for a transport/cargo aircraft to perform airlift and air mobility missions, among others. In addition, Embraer and Boeing announced that the joint venture to promote and develop new markets for the C-390 Millennium multi-mission airlift and air mobility aircraft will be called Boeing Embraer – Defense. The organization will only be operational after the companies’ joint venture receives regulatory approvals and meets closing conditions.

Also during the event in Dubai, Embraer announced two contracts for commercial aircraft: a contract with Air Peace for three additional E195-E2s, confirming purchase rights from the original contract and a firm order for three E190 jets with CIAF Leasing.

Embraer welcomed three new E2 operators. Helvetic Airways, from Switzerland, and Air Kiribati, national airline of the Republic of Kiribati, received its first E190-E2 jets, while Binter, of Spain, received its first E195-E2. Embraer also signed firm orders with SkyWest, for 20 E175 that will be operated by American Airlines, and with Congo Airways for two E175 aircraft, with purchase rights for a further two.

U.S. Weighs Blocking GE Engine Sales for China’s New Airplane

February 16, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: A traffic light is seen in front of a logo of General Electric at the company’s plant in Birr

(Reuters) – The U.S. government is considering whether to stop General Electric Co from continuing to supply engines for a new Chinese passenger jet, according to people familiar with the matter, casting uncertainty over China’s efforts to enter the civil aviation market.

The potential restriction on the engine sales – possibly along with limits on other components for Chinese commercial aircraft such as flight control systems made by Honeywell International Inc – is the latest move in the battle between the world’s two largest economies over trade and technology.

The issue is expected to come up at an interagency meeting about how strictly to limit exports of U.S. technology to China on Thursday and at another meeting with members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet set for Feb. 28, sources said.

The White House and the U.S. Commerce Department, which issues licenses for such exports, declined to comment, as did a GE spokeswoman. The departments of Defense, State, Energy and Treasury did not respond to requests for comment.

For years, the United States has supported American companies’ business with China’s budding civil aviation industry.

The government has provided licenses that allow those companies to sell engines, flight control systems and other components for China’s first large commercial aircraft, the COMAC C919. The narrow-body jet has already engaged in test flights and is expected to go into service next year. COMAC is an acronym for Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd.

But the Trump administration is weighing whether to deny GE’s latest license request to provide the CFM LEAP-1C engine for the C919, people familiar with the matter said, though GE has received licenses for the LEAP engines since 2014 and was last granted one in March 2019.

The CFM LEAP engine is a joint venture between GE and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines. The proposal to halt the deliveries of the engines was also reported on Saturday by the Wall Street Journal.

Safran did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and French government officials could not be reached for comment.

Aside from aircraft engines, flight control systems are up for discussion at the February meetings. Honeywell International has received licenses to export flight control systems to COMAC for the C919 for about a decade, and one was approved in early 2020, according to a person familiar with the matter.

But future permission for such sales for COMAC’s passenger aircrafts may be up for debate. Honeywell also has been seeking a license for flight control technology to participate in the development of the C929, China’s planned wide-body jet venture with Russia, the person said.

The flight control system operates moving mechanical parts, such as the wing flaps, from the cockpit.

A spokeswoman for Honeywell declined to comment.

An aerospace trade group official said his organization would like to weigh in on any policy shifts.

“If there are any changes, we would hope they would engage with us, as they’ve done before,” said Remy Nathan, vice president for international affairs at the Aerospace Industries Association.

At the heart of the debate over a possible crackdown on the sale of U.S. parts to China’s nascent aircraft industry is whether such shipments would fuel the rise of a serious competitor to U.S.-based Boeing Co or boost China’s military capabilities.

People familiar with the matter said some administration officials are concerned the Chinese could reverse engineer some items, though others say an abundance of LEAP engines in China has not brought that about to date.

If the United States were to move ahead with the measure, one person familiar with the matter said, China could retaliate by ordering more planes from Airbus SE , rather than crisis-hit Boeing, which relies on China for a fourth its deliveries.

The Trump administration’s meetings about technology issues also are set to include a discussion of whether to impose further restrictions on suppliers to Huawei Technologies, the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, which is on a U.S. trade blacklist.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper; additional reporting by Tim Hepher in Paris; editing by Jonathan Oatis)

FILE PHOTO: China’s home-grown C919 passenger jet taxis after landing on its maiden flight at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai

Lessor BBAM Orders 3 Boeing 737-800 Converted Freighters

February 10, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

SINGAPORE, Feb 11 (Reuters) – Boeing Co said on Tuesday that lessor BBAM had ordered three 737-800 converted freighters to serve the growing e-commerce market and express sectors of the air cargo market.

The planes to be converted will come from BBAM’s existing fleet. “This agreement shows how we can serve our customers by delivering efficient and reliable airplanes and a portfolio of services that extracts value throughout the life of those jets,” said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing’s senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing.

Boeing also said it would inaugurate a 737-800 passenger to freighter conversion line in China this summer.

The new line will be at Guangzhou Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Company Ltd (GAMECO), a joint venture between China Southern Airlines Co Ltd and Hutchison Whampoa.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Airbus Likely to Acquire Remaining Bombardier A220 Stake

February 7, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

MONTREAL/PARIS (Reuters) – Europe’s Airbus SE <EADSY> is likely to acquire Canadian plane and train maker Bombardier Inc’s <BBD-B.TO> remaining stake in the A220 passenger jet program, two industry sources said.

A deal for Airbus to buy the 33.58% share in the program was widely expected after Bombardier said in January it was reviewing the stake in the joint venture. Barring surprises, a deal is expected next week ahead of both companies’ earnings reports on Feb. 13, the sources added.

Airbus and Bombardier both declined to comment. The terms of a potential deal that would mark Bombardier’s exit from commercial aviation were unclear.

Bombardier, which is weighing additional asset sales, faced a cash crunch in 2015 due to its high-stakes bet on the technologically advanced narrowbody.

Bombardier shares closed up 2.8%.

Montreal-based Bombardier ceded control of the program to Airbus in 2018 for a token C$1 as part of broader efforts to improve its finances. It retained a minority stake alongside the Canadian province of Quebec.

Bombardier had warned the program would require additional cash to ramp up production, and could be subject to a writedown, as it faces higher-than-expected costs in its rail division and more than $9 billion of debt.

Since Airbus took over the program, the A220 has seen a sharp pickup in sales to 658 orders as of Jan. 31. But it has not seen the cost declines expected from Airbus applying its greater purchasing power with suppliers, one of the sources said.

A deal would leave Airbus to shoulder additional investments required by the plane program.

“Airbus did not particularly want to do this at this time, but is presented with little choice if Bombardier is pulling back,” the second source said.

Airbus, with a 50.6% stake in the program, delivered 48 A220 jets in 2019 and is ramping up production toward its maximum monthly capacity of 10 jets in Mirabel, Quebec, and four planes at a second line in Alabama by mid-decade.

Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer told Reuters in January the company was progressing toward its target of a double-digit percentage reduction in the A220’s production costs.

Quebec, with a 16.36% stake in the A220 program, would not invest further. Rather, it is trying to protect the program’s estimated 2,700 jobs, along with the province’s $1 billion investment in the program, Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon said on Monday.

“We put $1 billion in it and that’s enough.”

(Reporting by Allison Lampert and Tim Hepher in Paris; Editing by Diane Craft, David Gregorio and Richard Chang)

MGM To Sell Las Vegas Resorts To Joint Venture In $4.6B Deal

January 14, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

MGM Resorts International (NYSE: MGM) said Tuesday that it plans to sell the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay properties to a joint venture of MGM Growth Properties LLC (NYSE: MGP) and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, Inc. for $4.6 billion.

The Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust will purchase $150 million in MGM Growth Properties Class A shares. MGP will own 50.1% of the joint venture, and BREIT will own 49.9%.

MGM Resorts will enter into a long-term triple net master lease for the MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay and will continue to manage and be responsible for the properties on a day-to-day basis, with the joint venture owning the properties and receiving rent payments.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.

“We are pleased to announce this partnership with BREIT, which illustrates the numerous opportunities available to grow our business and emphasizes the strong institutional demand for gaming real estate assets,” MGP CEO James Stewart said in a statement.

“Along with the contemplated cash redemption of $1.4 billion of MGM’s operating partnership units as announced by MGM, we expect this transaction to be accretive to AFFO while allowing us to maintain pro rata net leverage of 5.6x.”

MGM shares were down 0.45% at $33.22 at the time of publication Tuesday. The stock has a 52-week high of $33.87 and a 52-week low of $23.68.

Ford’s Vehicle Sales in China Tumble for Third Consecutive Year

January 12, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Ford Motor Co’s <F> China vehicle sales fell for a third consecutive year, by 26.1%, as it battles a prolonged overall sales decline in its second-biggest market that has hit demand for its mass-market Ford brand and sports utility vehicles.

The U.S. automaker delivered 146,473 vehicles in China in the fourth quarter, down 14.7% year-on-year, Ford said in a statement. In total, it sold 567,854 vehicles over 2019.

Ford has been trying to revive sales in China after its business began slumping in late 2017. Sales sank 37% in 2018, after a 6% decline in 2017.

Anning Chen, president and chief executive of Ford Greater China, said that while 2019 was a “challenging” year for the automaker, it saw its market share in the high-to-premium segment stabilize and its sales decline in the value segment start to narrow in the second-half of the year.

“The pressure from the external environment and downward trend of the industry volume will continue in 2020, and we will put more efforts into strengthening our product lineup with more customer-centric products and customer experiences to mitigate the external pressure and improve dealers’ profitability.”

The automaker plans to launch more than 30 new models in China over the next three years of which over a third will be electric vehicles. It has also said it would localize management teams by hiring more Chinese staff and aimed to improve relationships with joint venture partners.

New models it launched in the fourth quarter include a new Ford Escape version – for which the automaker said orders received so far have been much higher than expected – and the Lincoln Corsair, the first localized Lincoln model in China.

In China, Ford makes cars through a joint venture with Chongqing Changan Automobile Co Ltd and Jiangling Motors Corp Ltd (JMC). It has also said it would partner Zotye Automobile Co Ltd to sell lower priced cars.

Its larger U.S. rival General Motors Co <GM> last week said its sales in China fell 15% from a year earlier to 3.09 million vehicles in 2019, its second year of decline.

China’s auto market is set to contract by 2% in 2020 for the third year of decline, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) forecast, due to a weaker economy and trade dispute with the United States.

Over 28 million vehicles were sold in 2018, down 3% from the prior year, while 2019 sales are likely to have declined 8% from the prior year, CAAM said.

(Reporting by Brenda Goh and Yilei Sun; Editing by Christian Schmollinger and Christopher Cushing)

A Ford model is seen during the China International Import Expo (CIIE), at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai

Bombardier Joint Venture Wins Contract to Build 160 New Chinese Standard High-Speed Train Cars

January 4, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

With around 4,500 train cars already delivered, Bombardier’s Chinese joint venture is the only Sino-foreign entity to win a new Chinese standard high-speed train bid
New Chinese standard high-speed train cars to enhance passenger experience and contribute to the expansion of the world’s longest high-speed rail network

Global mobility solution provider Bombardier Transportation announced today that its Chinese joint venture, Bombardier Sifang (Qingdao) Transportation Ltd. (BST), has been awarded a contract from China State Railway Group Co., Ltd. (CHINA RAILWAY) to supply 160 CR400AF cars, a new Chinese standard high-speed train car for China’s evolving high-speed rail network. The 160 cars will be configured into ten 16-car trainsets with an operating speed of 350 km/h. The total contract is valued at approximately 2.97 billion CNY ($427 million US, 380 million euro). Bombardier Transportation owns 50 per cent of the shares in BST, which is consolidated by Bombardier Transportation’s partner CRRC Sifang Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.

Jianwei Zhang, President, Bombardier Transportation China, said, “We are very proud to have been chosen to supply the new generation of CR400AF cars, a high-speed railway car, through our BST joint venture. China’s high-speed rail industry has become one of the nation’s economic pillar industries and the high-speed network has brought greater mobility and prosperity to the public. Bombardier is proud of its contributions to China’s rail industry and looks forward to delivering more of the high-quality products that are helping China meet its ambitious long-term mobility goals.”

In 2018, BST won two contracts to build a total of 288 CR400AF cars and every car was delivered on-time and on quality. This latest contract is BST’s third and reflects the trust that CHINA RAILWAY has in BST’s efficiency, reliability and competitive edge. All 160 cars will be delivered by mid-2020.

Bombardier Transportation in China is the full solution provider across the entire value chain. From vehicles and propulsion to services and design, Bombardier Transportation in China has seven joint ventures, six wholly foreign-owned enterprises, and more than 8,000 employees. Together, the joint ventures have delivered 4,500 railway passenger cars, 580 electric locomotives and over 2,500 metro cars, Monorail, APM, and trams to China’s growing rail transit markets. It is a major signalling supplier to the Chinese high-speed network and through its joint ventures, propulsion equipment and signalling systems are utilized in a total of 30 Chinese cities.

Bain Capital To Invest In Atlas Air’s Aircraft Leasing Unit

December 18, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Investment firm Bain Capital Credit will invest an initial $360 million in a joint venture with Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (NASDAQ: AAWW), a major provider of outsourced all-cargo aircraft operations and other aviation services, to lease freighter aircraft, the companies said Wednesday.

Under the agreement, Atlas’ leasing subsidiary Titan Aviation Holdings Inc. will contribute $40 million of equity towards the portfolio, which ultimately could have a value of $1 billion with additional commitments to acquire aircraft over the next several years. The number and type of planes to be acquired are still to be determined. Titan will identify and source aircraft, as well as provide lease-management services to the venture.

The new company will be called Titan Aircraft Investment, Dan Loh, Atlas’ vice president of investor relations, told FreightWaves. “The parties are working expeditiously to complete and implement all elements of the joint venture,” he said.

Since its inception in 2009, Titan has grown to become the third-largest freighter lessor globally by fleet value with over 30 aircraft and a book value of over $1.5 billion.

Titan provides aircraft to airlines, which put them under their own operating certificate and then fly, maintain and insure them. Contracts are usually long term.

Click the link for the full story! https://finance.yahoo.com/news/bain-capital-invest-atlas-airs-191045251.html

GM Loans $40 Million to Firm to Acquire, Retool Shuttered Lordstown, Ohio, Factory

December 9, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant in Lansing.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – General Motors Co <GM> confirmed on Monday it agreed to loan $40 million to an electric vehicle start-up to facilitate the acquisition of its shuttered Lordstown Assembly plant in Ohio.

Lordstown Motors Corp, which is 10% owned by Workhorse Group Inc <WKHS>, bought the plant and equipment for $20 million in November as part of its ambitious plan to begin building electric pickup trucks by the end of 2020.

The loan agreement, which was reported earlier Monday by the Business Journal in Youngstown, was filed in Trumbull County last week.

Lordstown Motors has been working on the engineering of the new truck, “Endurance”, and hired Rich Schmidt, a former director of manufacturing at Tesla Inc, as chief production officer.

“We structured the sales agreement to help support Lordstown Motors’ launch plans for the Endurance pickup,” GM spokesman Jim Cain said, who added it “allows them to take possession of the plant and to cover some operating expenses while they undertake their capital raise.”

GM is not investing in the venture, but Cain said GM financing could rise to $50 million.

The fate of the sprawling northeastern Ohio plant became a political lightning rod after GM announced its planned closure in November 2018, drawing condemnation from U.S. President Donald Trump and many U.S. lawmakers.

Lordstown CEO Steve Burns told Reuters last month he hopes to have pre-production prototypes coming off the assembly line by April and to start production by November 2020 with an initial workforce of 400 hourly workers.

Burns said last month the company hopes to raise more than $300 million, the Business Journal reported. Burns told Reuters it retained Ohio investment bank Brown Gibbons Lang & Co in its capital fundraising effort.

GM and South Korea’s LG Chem <051910.KS> said Thursday they will invest $2.3 billion to build an electric vehicle battery cell joint venture plant in Ohio which will be one of the world’s largest battery facilities.

The plant, to be built near the Lordstown complex, will employ more than 1,100 people, the companies said.

As part of the Lordstown sale, GM has the option to lease land near the assembly plant that it could use for the battery plant.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

China’s BAIC Willing to Increase Daimler Holding after 5% Stake Buy

November 25, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: BAIC Group automobile maker at the IEEV New Energy Vehicles Exhibition in Beijing

BEIJING/FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Daimler’s <DDAIF> main Chinese joint venture partner BAIC Group has signalled its intention to increase its stake in the German luxury car manufacturer, sources briefed on the matter said, after it built up a 5% Daimler holding in July.

Officials at BAIC’s listed company, BAIC Motor Corp Ltd, said at investor conferences in mid-October that “both sides are willing to increase stakes in the other”, responding to questions about future relationship between BAIC Group and Daimler, the sources said.

Daimler said in a regulatory filing on Friday that HSBC held 5.23% in Daimler’s voting rights directly as well as through instruments such as equity swaps as of Nov 15. BAIC has used HSBC to help it build its initial 5% stake.

Sources declined to be named as they are not allowed to speak to media.

A Daimler spokesman on Monday said, that the company had received notification from HSBC that the voting stake of 5% has been exceeded.

While the spokesman would not say whether BAIC played a role in the transaction, he added that Daimler welcomed long-term shareholders such as BAIC, who support the carmaker’s strategies.

“Daimler AG appreciates BAIC as long-standing partner and long-term investor,” the spokesman said in a written statement.

“Such shareholders help us to further safeguard and strengthen the capitalization of our company,” the statement continued.

BAIC was not immediately available for comment.

Geely, Daimler’s biggest shareholder with a 9.7% stake, said: “We are a long-term investor in Daimler. We do not react spontaneously to any volatility and we support Daimler’s management and their strategy.”

BAIC (Beijing Automobile Group Co Ltd) has been Daimler’s main partner in China for years and operates Mercedes-Benz factories in Beijing through Beijing Benz Automotive.

Two months before its July stake deal was announced, sources told Reuters that BAIC wanted to invest in Daimler to secure its investment in Beijing Benz Automotive.

In March, sources told Reuters Daimler had asked Goldman Sachs <GS> to help it explore increasing its stake in BAIC’s Hong Kong-listed company.

The partners also planned to revamp manufacturing facilities to make Mercedes Benz-branded trucks via their commercial vehicle joint venture Foton Daimler Automotive (BFDA), Reuters reported in August citing a document and sources familiar with matter.

The companies also said Daimler and BAIC’s new energy vehicle unit BluePark have jointly developed a battery research lab in Beijing.

State-owned BAIC built its stake after Li Shufu, chairman of rival private automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, built a 9.69% stake in Stuttgart-based Daimler in early 2018.

By using Hong Kong shell companies, derivatives, bank financing and structured share options, Li kept the plan under wraps until he was able, at a stroke, to become Daimler’s single largest shareholder.

Since the investment, Geely and Daimler have said they plan to build the next generation of Smart electric cars in China through a joint venture.

Zhejiang-based Geely owns Volvo while BAIC in addition to Daimler has a partnership with South Korea’s Hyundai Motor <HYMTF>.

Daimler said it had collaborated with BAIC in areas such as production, research and development and sales since 2003.

(Reporting by Yilei Sun and Edward Taylor; additional reporting by Arno Schuetze and Ludwig Burger; editing by Brenda Goh, Jason Neely and Louise Heavens)

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