Embraer working 'very hard' to conclude Boeing talks: CEO
Embraer says it is working “very hard” to conclude talks with Boeing, even as the Brazilian manufacturer cautions that a deal might not even materialise.
“We are working hard to have an outcome very soon,” says Embraer chief executive Paulo Cesar Silva on an earnings call, adding that Embraer does not want to spend “too long” in talks on the potential tie-up.
“We don’t know if it will happen or not,” he cautions.
He declines to elaborate further, only reiterating that Embraer is in working group discussions with Brazil’s government, Boeing and Embraer’s shareholders.
“We are engaged with them in order to find a structure that can work for all the stakeholders,” he says. “That’s all I can say.”
Silva had previously been quoted as saying that he expects talks to be finalised in the first half of this year.
It is not immediately clear what a potential partnership between Boeing and Embraer would look like, although observers expect a tie-up around Embraer’s E-Jet portfolio.
The two companies confirmed in December 2017 that they were in talks for a potential combination, about two months after Airbus announced it was acquiring a majority stake in the Bombardier CSeries programme amidst a bitter trade dispute between Bombardier and Boeing. In January this year, a US trade panel ruling over the dispute handed out a surprise verdict in favour of Bombardier.
