DRB-Hicom to acquire Spirit AeroSystems ops in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): DRB-Hicom Bhd said on Monday that it is acquiring the Malaysian operations of aerospace manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems, in a deal that values the company at RM426.1 million.

Once the acquisition is completed by year end, Spirit AeroSystems Malaysia Sdn Bhd will be fully under the control of Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd, DRB-Hicom’s wholly owned aerospace unit also known as CTRM, the company said in an exchange filing.

The proposed acquisition is a “strategic opportunity to enhance CTRM’s competitive position in the aerospace industry by enhancing its aerostructure expertise”, DRB-Hicom said.

Spirit Malaysia supplies key components and other assemblies for Airbus and Boeing marquee programmes, including A220, A320, A321, A350, B737 and B787, out of its facilities within the Malaysia International Aerospace Centre in Subang, which also acts as its Southeast Asia hub.

Spirit Malaysia made a profit of RM70.1 million after tax on revenue of a little over RM1 billion in 2024.

CTRM, meanwhile, mainly develops and manufacture composites, particularly wing components for A320, A350 and A380 aircraft, as well as nacelles for A350 aircraft and various aerostructures for A400M, B737, B787, B767 and B777 aircraft.

The combined entity will have greater scale and growth in revenue, operations and customer exposure, stronger presence in key programmes and deeper relationships with global original equipment manufacturers, DRB-Hicom said.

Further, CTRM would be able to “enhance its presence across the supply chain, enabling better pricing power, improved access to early market insights and better leverage in supplier negotiations”, the company said.

The addition of Spirit Malaysia will also boost CTRM’s “ability to bid for integrated work packages” while “unlocking new contract opportunities”, DRB-Hicom added.

The deal comes at a time when Boeing is in the midst of acquiring the US-based parent Spirit AeroSystems. At the same time, a binding term sheet was also signed under which Airbus will assume ownership of certain Spirit AeroSystems’ assets that serve Airbus programmes. 

If the approval was not obtained from the European Commission and the US Federal Trade Commission for the acquisition of Spirit Malaysia, or if any of the government opposes CTRM purchase, the seller will pay a termination fee of US$7.0 million, DRB-Hicom noted.

AmInvestment Bank has been appointed as the principal adviser to DRB-Hicom for the proposed acquisition. 

Shares of DRB-Hicom resumed trading on Monday unchanged after the acquisition was announced earlier in the day.