Air Combat, Networks/Cyber, Department of Defense
Storm clouds gather behind the Boeing logo at the 2023 Paris Air Show. (Aaron Mehta/Defense breakthrough)
WASHINGTON — Boeing Co. is considering selling a small defense subsidiary that makes surveillance equipment for the U.S. military and intelligence agencies. I learned to penetrate defenses.
Boeing has engaged financial advisors to find potential buyers for its Digital Receiver Technology business and to gauge interest in unspecified defense programs under Boeing's aftermarket business unit. Bloomberg first reported earlier today, citing people familiar with the talks.
People with knowledge of the discussions told Breaking Defense that conversations about selling DRT have been going on for about a year. That was long before the U.S. plane maker was embroiled in a reputational crisis after a door plug on a Boeing 737 Max jetliner was torn off in mid-2018. Broadcast in January.
Boeing declined to comment.
Boeing acquired Germantown, Maryland-based DRT in 2008, when the aerospace giant was looking to expand its presence in the information sector. DRT specializes in manufacturing wireless receivers and transceivers. The amount is not disclosed.
Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace expert at AeroDynamic Advisories, said the sale of DRT is unlikely to have a material financial impact on Boeing, which is struggling with $39 billion in debt and could not be reacquired. The company said it could face further financial headwinds. Spirit AeroSystems is a Boeing spin-off that manufactures large airframe components for Boeing and Airbus commercial jets.
A sale of DRT could be a routine disposal of a non-core business, while a potential sale of defense aftermarket operations would add little value to the profitable Boeing Global Services division. Aboulafia said it is likely to focus on maintenance of older aircraft.
But they could be a stepping stone to larger changes within Boeing's defense business, he added.
“The bigger picture is why? Unless it's the start of a larger series of divestments, which I've long suspected. It's not that they don't want to do the actual work, they just break up the company.” I just want to,” he said, referring to Boeing executives.
Over the past year, multiple media outlets have reported that United Launch Alliance, the Boeing and Lockheed Martin conglomerate, has been seeking new ownership. The Wall Street Journal reported in December that Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin and private equity firm Cerberus had bid to buy the rocket maker, which competes with SpaceX for national security launch contracts. Ta.
Boeing is also considering selling Argon ST, a subsidiary that makes sensors and communications systems, but that process has been put on hold, according to Bloomberg.
