Today marks the official start to the biannual Paris Air Show, and already The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) and competitor Airbus, a division of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. (EADS) have announced their first orders. More announcements are scheduled for later today as well.
Airbus has announced an order for 50 of its new A320neo single-aisle planes from International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC), a subsidiary of American International Group Inc. (NYSE: AIG). The order is valued at $50 billion at a list price of $1 billion per plane. The actual price will certainly include a discount to the list price.
Boeing said it has a firm order for two of its 777-300ER long-range jets and seven options for additional planes from Qatar Airways. The deal is valued at $2.8 billion at current list prices. Qatar Airways is also a customer for Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.
In a related story, AIG and a consortium of Chinese buyers have agreed to extend the deadline for the sale of ILFC until the end of July. The deal is worth $4.23 billion, and AIG may now seek additional offers. The deal had been set to close last Friday. The Chinese buyers paid a deposit of $475 million, which gives them the right to acquire up to 90% of ILFC, but they must indicate their intention to exercise that option by July 15.
Shares of Boeing are up about 1.2% in premarket trading this morning, at $103.00 in a 52-week range of $69.03 to $103.22.
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