Business Corpus: After Boeing Loses C Series Subsidy Case, Bombardier Gets New HandoutBombardier has obtained new subsidized funding to sell its C Series jet just months after the ITC ruled state aid had not harmed Boeing.

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Bombardier has obtained new subsidized funding to sell its C Series jet, just months after the International Trade Commission ruled state aid had not harmed Boeing (BA).

The U.K. Export Finance agency will give Korean Airlines money to help it purchase two CS300 aircraft, according to Canada's Globe And Mail. While it is not known how much support is being given, the list price of a CS300 is $90 million.

Montreal-based Bombardier employs around 4,000 workers at plants in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where the C Series wings are made. The British government had already given around $187 million in loans to help fund the plants, but this is the first time it has been involved in funding a C Series sale.

The U.K.'s Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion Rona Fairhead hailed the deal, while Bombardier's Aerostructures and Engineering Services President Michael Ryan said the firm is "very proud" to have secured its first C Series aircraft sale to an Asian airline.

Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Shares were up 1.7% at 354.52 on the stock market today, continuing to rally off a recent test of their 50-day moving average. Rival Airbus (EADSY), which has a majority stake in the C Series business, climbed 0.9%.

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Back in January the ITC delivered a shock verdict when it ruled 4-0 Bombardier's C Series jet did not harm Boeing, which had claimed it was sold below market prices with help from government subsidies. It shut down a Commerce Department's recommendation to hit the Canadian company's C Series jet with a near-300% duty on sales to American carriers.

Boeing continued to defend its position after the hearing, despite the overwhelming nature of the verdict, and has yet to decide whether to appeal the ruling. A spokeswoman said after the January ITC ruling that the firm "will not stand by as Bombardier's illegal business practices continue to harm American workers."

At the height of the spat Bombardier struck a deal with Boeing's rival Airbus, which saw the European firm take a 50.1% stake in the C Series line for no cash outlay. The aviation giant also plans to open an assembly line in Alabama to build C Series planes for the U.S. market. Bombardier says that will create more than 2,000 permanent U.S. jobs.

Embraer Deal Progress

Meanwhile, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg has boasted the firm has the "cash horsepower" to invest, return capital to shareholders and make targeted acquisitions, including one that would give it control of Embraer's (ERJ) commercial aircraft business.

He told Reuters that the companies are "making progress" on a deal, which some analysts value at $5 billion-$6 billion.

Negotiations have been on going since news of a pending deal broke late last year. The South American company's defense unit had been a sticking point for the company during negotiations, as the Brazilian government didn't want to relinquish control of that part.

Brazilian media reported last month that Embraer had accepted Boeing's offer to form a company that oversees a commercial jet joint venture, which would not include the defense business.

Brazilian President Michel Temer is currently weighing up the proposal, with Muilenburg saying they are "making progress" though he added the deal was not a "must" for Boeing.

No Rush On '797'

Boeing's interest in Embraer comes as it looks to build a midmarket plane, which analysts are dubbing the "797," with the Brazilian company's engineers' expertise seen as key to helping jump-start the new plane.

However, he said there is "no rush" to make a decision on a new aircraft, which could enter service in 2024-25, adding it will probably come "over the next year or so."

The jet is expected to pioneer an advanced production system for Boeing, which is already building on record output of its smaller 737s, Muilenburg said, noting that suppliers are keeping up with demand.

In the wide-ranging interview, he also backed engine supplier GE (GE), saying it was delivering engines on time for the 737 MAX, and declined to discuss the impact the Trump steel and aluminum tariffs will have on his company.

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