UPDATE 1-Bombardier wins $1.2 bln order from Swiss Vistajet
May 20th, 2008 | by admin |(Adds details, changes dateline from Geneva; in U.S. dollarsunless noted)
TORONTO, May 20 (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO: Quote, Profile, Research), theworld’s third-largest civil aircraft maker, said on Tuesday ithas won an order for business aircraft worth up to $1.2 billionfrom Switzerland’s VistaJet.
The order, which was announced at an air show in Geneva, isfor 35 firm orders with options for an additional 25 aircraft,the Canadian aerospace company said.
If all options are exercised, the total value of the orderwill be about $1.2 billion, Bombardier said.
“It confirms the popularity of our Challenger 605 andLearjet 60 XR aircraft, and reflects the building excitementaround our new Learjet 85 program,” Bob Horner, seniorvice-president for sales at Bombardier Business Aircraft, saidin a statement.
As well, Bombardier said it will sell its charter unitBombardier Skyjet International to VistaJet. The company saidit has signed a memorandum of understanding, but did notprovide financial details of the deal.
The acquisition will give VistaJet access to more than 920chartered business jets around the world, while the aircraftorder will effectively triple the size of VistaJet’s existingfleet if all options are exercised.
“With the acquisition of Skyjet International, VistaJetwill effectively become one of the largest aviation providersin the world,” said Horner.
Privately owned VistaJet is headquartered in Switzerland.Its fleet is comprised of more than 30 medium- to long-rangejets with an average age of less than two years.
Shares of Montreal-based Bombardier edged up 4 Canadiancents, or 0.5 percent, to C$7.60 on the Toronto StockExchange. ($1=$0.99 Canadian) (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Leah Schnurr;editing by Rob Wilson)
