Boeing-Embraer Jet Venture Wins Antitrust Approval From China

(Bloomberg) -- Boeing Co. and Embraer SA won unconditional antitrust approval from China for their deals to jointly manufacture small jetliners and market a military cargo jet.

China’s decision removes a significant hurdle for the plans, in which the U.S. planemaker will buy a majority stake in the commercial aircraft division of its Brazilian counterpart. But a major obstacle remains for Boeing and Embraer in the European Union, where officials halted their antitrust probe earlier this month, saying they hadn’t received enough information from the companies.

Boeing is seeking to expand its reach into the market for 100-seat planes as Airbus SE strengthens its grip on that segment with the A220 jet, which the European aerospace giant took control of last year from Bombardier Inc. Embraer said last week that its deal with Boeing probably won’t close before the end of March, citing the delay in the EU. The U.S. has approved the deal.

China’s decision was published on the website of State Administration for Market Regulation on Nov. 19 but not widely reported until Thursday.

Embraer reversed a decline on the news and rose 0.2% to 17.43 reais at 3:11 pm in Sao Paulo. Boeing fell 0.4% to $369.51.

In addition to their joint venture on commercial jets, the companies also plan to team up to sell Embraer’s C-390 Millennium, a military cargo plane.

--With assistance from Linly Lin.

To contact the reporters on this story: Fabiola Moura in Sao Paulo at fdemoura@bloomberg.net;Julie Johnsson in Chicago at jjohnsson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, ;Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Tony Robinson

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