Just weeks after Boeing pulled out of a deal for part of Embraer, three other parties are showing interest in the Brazilian plane maker.
Suitors in China, India and Russia are said to be interested.
In April Boeing ditched a planned purchase of 80% of Embraer’s commercial aircraft division, due to the Covid-19 downturn in aircraft orders, and following a year-long grounding of the Boeing 737 Max.
Boeing had planned to compete in the smaller regional jet market with Airbus which tied up with Canada’s Bombardier in 2018.
Following Boeing’s pull-out, China’s state-owned COMAC aircraft manufacturer has emerged as a front-runner to invest in Embraer.
It has made an informal solicitation, according to people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported.
COMAC is not alone.
Russian aircraft manufacturer Irkut has also made its interest known, while India has expressed interest ‘at government level’ Reuters said.
A unnamed government official in India said a stake purchase would be good business at its current valuation.
"The situation at Embraer is fairly bad, share value is drastically eroded; there would be many countries showing interest in this including us."
However, a state funded stake purchase of an aircraft manufacturer may not be a good political move considering its long time problems with Air India.
The flag carrier is up for grabs but the Covid-19 pandemic has hampered the likelihood of a sale happening right now.
