PETALING JAYA: DRB-Hicom Bhd
plans to acquire the Malaysian operations of aerospace manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems – the world’s largest standalone aerostructures company with an enterprise value of US$95.2mil.
In a statement, the conglomerate said its wholly-owned subsidiary, Composites Technology Research Malaysia Sdn Bhd (CTRM) had entered into a conditional share purchase agreement with Spirit AeroSystems Inc and Spirit AeroSystems International Holdings, Inc.
The acquisition is expected to be completed by year-end, making Spirit AeroSystems Malaysia Sdn Bhd (Spirit Malaysia) a wholly-owned subsidiary of CTRM.
The purchase consideration is set to be fully satisfied in cash, which is expected to be funded through bank borrowings.
Based on the latest audited consolidated financial statements for financial year 2024, Spirit Malaysia posted a profit after tax of RM70.1mil and net assets of RM770.5mil.
According to DRB-Hicom, the acquisition represents a strategic opportunity to further enhance CTRM’s competitive position in the aerospace industry by enhancing its aerostructures expertise.
“This would contribute towards improved scale, efficiency, and growth in various areas that would elevate CTRM’s presence in key aerospace programmes,” the company said.
The conglomerate added that it would also deepen its relationships with global original equipment manufacturers, while expanding CTRM’s relationships with Airbus for its A220, A320, and A350 programmes, and with Boeing on the 737 and 787 programmes.
“At the same time, CTRM will enhance its presence across the supply chain and be better positioned for long-term competitiveness and sustainable growth in an increasingly challenging and dynamic aerospace market,” DRB-Hicom said.
CTRM is known for developing and producing aircraft composites components for aerospace and non aerospace applications as well as offering a range of support services such as testing laboratory facilities, composites engineering and supplier management services.
Spirit Malaysia supplies key components and other assemblies for Airbus and Boeing marquee programmes, including A220, A320/A321, A350, B737 and B787. In addition to its aerospace composite and metallic assembly expertise, it also provides engineering services, supply chain management services and shared services.
Spirit Malaysia is also a key customer of CTRM, contributing 54.1% towards the latter’s consolidated revenue for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2024.
The acquisition followed news of Boeing receiving regulatory approval from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority for its planned acquisition of Wichita-based Spirit AeroSystems.
According to reports, this meant investigations will not continue on to “phase two”.
Initial investigation began in June 2025 and had a deadline for the end of this month.
The deal is reportedly expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year. At market close yesterday, DRB-Hicom’s share price was 82 sen.
