The acquisition will see Bombardier operate another manufacturing site near Toronto and employ another 750 people.
Canadian business jet manufacturer Bombardier plans to acquire wing producer MHI Canada Aerospace in a move intended to strengthen the company’s manufacturing capabilities and bolster the resiliency of its supply base.
Bombardier disclosed the planned acquisition on 1 September, saying it and MHI Canada parent Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) reached an agreement that should see the aerostructures supplier change hands before year-end.
Based in Mississauga near Toronto, MHI Canada employs some 750 people and only produces components for Bombardier business jets. The company manufactures wings for Challenger 3500s, wings and centre fuselage structures for Global 5500s and 6500s, and several other components, according to Bombardier and to MHI Canada’s website.
Bombardier, which already operates a massive facility in Mississauga producing Global business jets, declines to reveal the planned purchase price. MHI Canada did not respond to a request for comment. The deal remains subject to regulatory approvals.
“With this acquisition, we are deepening our core manufacturing expertise as well as our commitment to proactively develop the local workforce through multiple streams in component manufacturing and whole aircraft assembly,” says Bombardier’s executive vice-president of manufacturing, supply chain execution and operational excellence David Murray.
MHI head of commercial aviation systems Hiroyuki Koguchi says the sale “ensures a bright future for our employees”.
Bombardier intends to acquire the entire MHI Canada operation, including its employees, and says the companies will collaborate to “support an orderly transition” and to avoid disrupting production.
“It strengthens our manufacturing footprint, reinforces our supply chain and enhances our ability to meet sustained demand for our aircraft portfolio,” says Bombardier senior vice-president of strategy and M&A Sandra Hodgkinson.
The deal reflects Bombardier’s “disciplined approach to investing in strategy capabilities that support our long-term priorities”, she adds.
The planned acquisition comes after Bombardier in recent years downsized its aerospace manufacturing footprint. It previously owned a sizeable aerostructures business with operations in Belfast and Morocco fabricating fuselage sections and other components for Global and Challenger business jets. The Belfast facility also produced wings for the Airbus A220.
But Bombardier exited those businesses, selling them in 2020 to Spirit AeroSystems. The sites then passed to Boeing and Airbus after Boeing acquired Spirit in late 2025.
Those were among a series of divestitures that also included Bombardier jettisoning its commercial aircraft (CRJ and Q400) operation and rail division to become a pure-play business jet manufacturer in 2021.
Bombardier did make several acquisitions along the way. In 2019, it brought Global 7500 wing production in house by acquiring that manufacturing programme from Triumph Group.
Then in 2023 Bombardier purchased an electrical wiring production operation in Mexico from French aerospace company Latecoere.
Earlier this year, Bombardier expanded its aftermarket business by acquiring maintenance shop Velocity Maintenance Solutions.
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