Boeing CEO Says He’d Resist Aid If U.S. Demands an Equity Stake

(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. doesn’t want the U.S. government to take a stake as the planemaker seeks assistance to grapple with effects from the new coronavirus, according to Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun.

“I don’t have a need for an equity stake,” Calhoun said in an interview Tuesday with Fox Business. “I want them to support the credit markets, provide liquidity. Allow us to borrow against our future.”

He indicated that the Chicago-based company wouldn’t accept aid in exchange for the government owning a share. “If you attach too many things to it, of course, you take a different course,” he said.

Congress has struggled to come to terms on a massive stimulus package to aid businesses and individuals struggling with the economic fallout of the outbreak. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday she was confident a deal would be reached.

Boeing, which is seeking $60 billion in aid for the aerospace industry, said Monday that it would shut down its Seattle-area manufacturing hub for two weeks after a worker died of coronavirus complications. The company has suspended stock buybacks and dividend payments, while Calhoun and Chairman Larry Kellner have given up all pay until year-end.

Its shares surged 16% to $122.89 at 10:29 a.m. Tuesday as the market rallied on signs that Congress was near agreement on a stimulus bill. Boeing had plunged 68% this year through Monday, the worst performance on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

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