Boeing Announces $35 Billion Financial Strategy Amid Strikes and Regulatory Scrutiny
Boeing(BA, Financial) said in a statement on Tuesday that it was seeking to issue up to $35 billion via share and debt and a new credit agreement to address its increasingly precarious position, worsened by continuing production issues and an expensive union strike. Bank of America (BOFA Financial), Citibank, Goldman Sachs (GS, Financial), and JPMorgan (JPM, Financial) are expected to join the aerospace giant and provide up to $25 billion in market financing and a $10 billion credit line. This financial strategy comes when Boeing is experiencing multiple crises ranging from problems in its production line, which has shut down several times courtesy of regulatory probes into safety issues, to the ongoing internal strike by 33,000 union workers that cost the company about $1 billion monthly. The company also risks seeing its credit ratings reduced by credit rating agencies while its ratings are near junk status. However, Boeing has been pressured down on every front, and even though the company's shares have improved by 2.1% after the announcement, market players appreciate the fact that the company is eager to safeguard itself.
Last month, Standard & Poor's and Fitch highlighted the risk of a downgrade but agreed that this fresh liquidity could be used to support Boeing's investment-grade credit rating. Most of them still approach the situation circumspectly. However, some have specific criticisms of the Boeing efforts as being a bit 'fuzzy and, more importantly, the seeming challenges of getting decent funding. The expected funds are meant to bring in hidden cash for Boeing to strengthen its balance sheet and support its activities in what will likely be a very volatile environment. New credit facilities were not used in the year, but the group has stated they provide a good cushion against these continuing pressures.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.