General Electric To Sell Middle River Plant For $630M

General Electric on Thursday agreed to sell Middle River Aircraft Systems to a Singapore company, the buyer announced.

Singapore Technologies Engineering announced that their American subsidiary, Vision Technologies Aerospace Incorporated, will buy the plant for $630 million, subject to closing adjustments and other expenses and regulatory approvals. The deal is expected to close early next year.

ST Engineering sees a role for MRAS in building parts for the Airbus A320neo.

“ST Engineering keeps a constant lookout to acquire companies in our core business areas or adjacencies that will contribute profitable revenue streams and sharpen our competitive edge," president and CEO Vincent Chong said in a statement. "We are excited by the prospects of our investment in MRAS, which is a high-value and complementary business that will enhance our scale, global reach and capture synergies for the Group.”

The Middle River plant's history goes back to 1929, when it was founded as the Glenn L. Martin Company. It was a launchpad for young aircraft engineers whose last names you'd recognize, like James McDonnell, Donald Douglas and William Boeing. During World War II, the company employed more than 53,000 people to make planes featuring turrets and rotating bomb bays.

The Martin company merged in 1961 with American Marietta to form Martin Marietta and focus on missiles and space projects. In 1995, Martin Marietta merged with the Lockheed Company. Lockheed Martin then offloaded business units including the Middle River factory to General Electric two years later.

Under GE, the facility built jet engine nacelles and thrust reverses for clients including their parent company, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, the U.S. Navy and commercial airlines nationwide.

David Joyce, the president and CEO of GE Aircraft Engines, extended his congratulations to ST Engineering.

"They are an outstanding partner with a dedication to engineering and operations excellence," he said in a statement. "We look forward to our continued work with the Group and the Middle River team as an important supplier of nacelles on our propulsion systems for many years to come.”