Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd confirmed Wednesday (June 5) that it has reached an “advanced” stage of negotiation with Bombardier for the acquisition of the CRJ program.
Canada’s Bombardier is trying to find a solution for its money-losing CRJ program, which has no order after 2020. For its part, Mitsubishi is hungry for expertise to develop and certify its delayed regional jet program, the MRJ.
Responding to reports first published by The Air Current that an announcement of the deal might be released on Paris Air Show, Mitsubishi said that it has not made a decision yet.
“Neither has any corporate decision been made nor are there any prospects as to the contents of such a transaction,” it said in a written statement.
“If ever any such decision is made, we will disclose as necessary in accordance with the applicable stock exchange regulations.”
In July of last year, Bombardier sold is 110-130 seat jet named CSeries to Airbus. CRJ competes against aircraft made by Embraer, which struck its own deal in recent months with Boeing Company.
The Bombardier CRJ is a family of regional aircraft being the number of seats varies between 50 and 100. Until October 2018, 1,800 CRJs have been delivered.
This sale to Mitsubishi can be the end of an era for Bombardier´s aerospace history that began in 1986 with the acquired of Canadair.