Boeing Co. is walking away from its proposed $4.2 billion combination with Embraer SA’s commercial-aircraft business, ending years of talks, as the planemakers brace for a far smaller jetliner market after the coronavirus pandemic.
The deal’s collapse turns two long-time business partners into competitors and strengthens Airbus SE’s long-term advantage in the lucrative market for single-aisle planes.
The partnership with Brazil’s Embraer would have armed the U.S. aerospace giant with smaller jets to compete against a new offering from Airbus.
Boeing is abandoning the proposed tie-up weeks after Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun warned employees that the company would need to adjust to a “new reality" as travel demand vanishes because of