Aircraft manufacturer Bombardier sold its NI division to US firm Spirit AeroSystems in October 2019, but conditions are still “needed for closure of the deal”.
These were the words of Spirit’s CEO, Tom Gentile on Tuesday, who added that he could see the “long-term strategic value” of buying Bombardier’s Northern Ireland operations.
BBC News NI reported that Mr Gentile “would not be drawn about what conditions still need to be satisfied” in a briefing with financial analysts.
The sale was reported in October to be worth almost £1bn. Spirit, which is based in Kansas, is a major supplier to Boeing and aims to do more work for Airbus.
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The wings for the Airbus A220 are made at Bombardier Belfast's plant, and thus is part of the reason it purchased Bombardier’s NI business.
Bombardier recently lost a planned Airbus contract for engine covers, to which Mr Gentile was asked if Spirit was seeking a lower price due to this.
He said they were monitoring the situation and talking to Bombardier about possible impacts.
Spirit's purchase of the Bombardier assets was originally planned to be completed in the first half of this year and the process has a "long-stop date" or deadline of 31 October 2020.
