More than two decades after Boeing sold its Wichita, Kansas, plant, the aerospace manufacturer has finalized a deal to bring it back in house.

Boeing said Monday it had reacquired Spirit AeroSystems, the Wichita-based supplier that builds the entire fuselage for the 737 Max, as well as the forward fuselage for other Boeing commercial planes and wing components, engine nacelles and pylons for Boeing jets.

As part of the acquisition, Boeing will add 15,000 employees and take over several Spirit operations, including all work done for Boeing commercial planes. It will bring Boeing’s largest parts supplier in-house, expanding Boeing’s maintenance, repair and overhaul business, as well as its aftermarket services portfolio.

The deal also creates an independent subsidiary called Spirit Defense to allow Spirit to continue supplying parts to the defense industry, including some of Boeing’s competitors.

Spirit also finalized a deal Monday with Boeing’s commercial rival Airbus, to acquire parts of the supplier that build aircraft components for the European manufacturer.

“This is a pivotal moment in Boeing’s history and future success,” said Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg. “As we welcome our new teammates and bring our two companies together, our focus is on maintaining stability so we can continue delivering high quality airplanes, differentiated services and advanced defense capabilities for our customers and the industry.”

The two companies finalized the $4.7 billion acquisition after more than a year of navigating regulatory approvals. As part of the deal, Boeing will also take on Spirit’s net debt of $3.6 billion, so the total transaction value is about $8.3 billion.

The Federal Trade Commission approved the deal last week on the condition that Boeing divest parts of Spirit that produce aircraft components for Airbus and commit to continuing defense work for other Boeing competitors.

Boeing spun out its Wichita plant in 2004, part of a broader company effort to outsource manufacturing of aircraft parts. But, 20 years later, Boeing said it would bring the supplier back in its fold to address lax manufacturing standards and defects that had slowed the pace of deliveries.

Boeing and Spirit announced the acquisition in June 2024, six months after a panel flew off a 737 Max in midair and thrust both companies into regulatory and public scrutiny.

Even before the panel blowout, Boeing had increased its presence in the Wichita factory after a series of quality problems on Spirit-built fuselages for the 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner. Investors sued Spirit in 2023, accusing the company of ignoring reports of low-quality work.

Boeing’s acquisition includes all of Spirit’s Boeing-related commercial operations — including fuselages for the 737 and major structures for the 767, 777 and 787 — as well as fuselages for two defense planes that are derived from commercial products, the P-8 and KC-46.

Boeing will take over Spirit's operations in Wichita, Dallas and Tulsa as well as Spirit’s Innovation Center in Prestwick, Scotland. Boeing also acquired parts of Spirit’s factory in Belfast, Northern Ireland, which will operate as an independent subsidiary known as Short Brothers.

Spirit Defense will act as a nonintegrated subsidiary of Boeing’s defense, space and security division. It will maintain independent governance and operations, Boeing said Monday.

Airbus, meanwhile, will acquire Spirit's sites in Kinston, North Carolina; Saint-Nazaire, France; and Casablanca, Morocco. It will also take over parts of the Belfast, Northern Ireland, site, which will be known as Airbus Belfast, and some production in Prestwick, which will be called Prestwick AeroSystems.

It will transfer production of A220 pylons from Wichita to Saint-Eloi, Toulouse, France.

This milestone marks a special moment for all of us at Airbus," Florent Massou, executive vice president of operations for Airbus' commercial aircraft business, said in a statement. "We are proud to welcome over 4,000 new colleagues, with whom we will embark on a new chapter in our industrial operations.

While Boeing is buying Spirit, Airbus won’t pay to acquire its parts of the business. In fact, Spirit will pay Airbus $439 million, according to an agreement reached in April.

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