Boeing, Iran near $25 billion jet deal

Iran is preparing to unveil a historic agreement within days for Boeing jetliners that could be valued at about $25 billion. The transaction would be the first struck by the planemaker since sanctions were lifted in January and would require U.S. government approval.

An order listed at $27 billion announced by Europe’s Airbus Group also needs a U.S. Treasury Department license before it can be finalized. Buyers typically negotiate discounts from list prices.

Boeing is poised to land a comparable deal if the U.S. company can navigate government permissions, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said in a June 3 address to the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference in New York.

“You can anticipate that that’s potentially a 50-50 kind of marketplace for Boeing and Airbus, and we’re going to battle it out competitively,” Muilenburg said. Referring to Airbus’ 118-plane order, “we see market space that’s measured in that category,” he said.

Minister Abbas Akhoundi in an address to Parliament referred to a Boeing agreement “within the coming days,” according a statement Monday on the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development website. He said the country needs to invest about $50 billion to bolster its fleet with 400 mid- and long-range jetliners and 100 short-haul planes.

Boeing shares rose less than 1 percent to end the trading day at $130.50 in New York, bucking declines across major stock indexes.

The planemaker has held discussions with Iranian airlines “about potential purchases of Boeing commercial passenger airplanes and services,” spokesman Tim Neale said by email.

“We do not discuss details of ongoing conversations we are having with customers, and our standard practice is to let customers announce any agreements that are reached,” he said.