Major Spirit AeroSystems acquisition back on track

Spirit AeroSystems Inc. announced this week that its planned acquisition of Belgium-based Asco Industries Inc. is back on track following needed clearance by regulators in the European Union.  The company said in a press release that it now expects to successfully close on the deal “in the weeks to come.”  The $650-million deal was held up last year by issues related to the old corporate structure of Airbus in Europe that, in the case of Asco in Belgium, involved an entity called Belairbus.  “It’s related to some of the historic structures that were established in the early days of Airbus,” Spirit CEO Tom Gentile explained in October. “Airbus set up these consortiums in each of the countries so it would only have to deal with one entity in each country.