UK competition watchdog weighs probe into Boeing-Spirit Aero deal

Britain's competition regulator is considering whether Boeing's deal to acquire its former subsidiary Spirit AeroSystems could affect competition in the country or in other markets, it said on Thursday.

The Competition and Markets Authority has not yet launched a formal investigation, but has invited comments from interested parties by July 15 to help inform a decision. 

Boeing and Spirit did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Boeing spun off Spirit's core Wichita and Oklahoma plants in 2005, but in 2024 it agreed to buy back Spirit AeroSystems for $4.7 billion in stock to streamline its operations and improve quality control, ending nearly two decades of independence of the world's largest standalone aerostructures company.

European rival Airbus had also finalized a deal in April to acquire several Spirit AeroSystems facilities tied to its aircraft programs.