MONTRÉAL, April 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Board of Directors of Bombardier Inc. (TSX: BBD.B) (“Bombardier” or the “Corporation”) has approved the start of a new normal course issuer bid for its Class B shares (subordinate voting) (the “NCIB”), subject to receiving approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange (the “TSX”) and any other regulatory requirements. The Corporation is currently targeting to implement the new NCIB in May 2023.

On June 23, 2022, Bombardier announced a normal course issuer bid that commenced on June 28, 2022 for a 12-month period (the “2022 NCIB”), pursuant to which it has purchased the maximum 880,000 Class B shares (subordinate voting) allowed under the 2022 NCIB, which shares were either cancelled to mitigate the dilutive effect of granting stock options under the Corporation’s stock option plan, which are settled with Class B shares (subordinate voting), or were placed in trust with Computershare Trust Company of Canada (“Computershare Canada”) and were used, or will be used, to settle the Corporation’s obligations under its employee share-based incentive plans, including its performance share unit plan and its restricted share unit plan.

The Board of Directors has approved the early termination of the 2022 NCIB and the commencement of a new NCIB to commence on a date after the 2022 NCIB’s effective termination date, and which shall remain in effect for one year, to purchase up to 600,000 Class B shares (subordinate voting) (subject to reasonable adjustment by management of the Corporation to account for changes in the market price of the Class B shares (subordinate voting) at the time of applying to the TSX for approval of the NCIB), representing approximately 0.69% of its 86,674,871 Class B shares (subordinate voting) currently issued and outstanding.

Class B shares (subordinate voting) purchased under the new NCIB will be cancelled if purchased in order to mitigate the dilutive effect of granting stock options under the Corporation’s stock option plan, which are settled with Class B shares (subordinate voting). Otherwise, Class B shares (subordinate voting) purchased under the new NCIB will be placed in trust with Computershare Canada, which shares will eventually be used to settle the Corporation’s obligations under certain of its employee share-based incentive plans, including its performance share unit plan and its restricted share unit plan. Of the up to 600,000 Class B shares (subordinate voting) that the Corporation intends to purchase under the new NCIB, it currently anticipates that approximately 85,000 of such shares would be cancelled and the balance of such shares would be placed in trust with Computershare Canada.

The new NCIB will be conducted through the facilities of the TSX or alternative trading systems, or by exempt offers, private agreements or block purchases. Purchases made on the open market through the facilities of the TSX and alternative trading systems will be at the prevailing market price at the time of acquisition (plus any brokerage fees). In the event the Corporation purchases Class B shares (subordinate voting) by exempt offers, block purchases or private agreements, the purchase price of the Class B shares (subordinate voting) may be, and will be in the case of purchases by private agreement, at a discount to the market price of such Class B shares (subordinate voting) at the time of acquisition, all as may be permitted by the TSX and the securities regulatory authorities.

The commencement of the new NCIB is subject to obtaining approval of the TSX and fulfilling all other regulatory requirements. The exact timing of the termination of the 2022 NCIB, the commencement of the new NCIB and the final maximum number of Class B shares (subordinate voting) purchasable under the new NCIB and other relevant details will be communicated by the Corporation in a press release issued at a later date.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements based on current expectations. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to important known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Please refer to our note on “Forward-Looking Statements” contained in our latest published financial report.

About Bombardier

Bombardier (BBD-B.TO) is a global leader in aviation, focused on designing, manufacturing, and servicing the world's most exceptional business jets. Bombardier’s Challenger and Global aircraft families are renowned for their cutting-edge innovation, cabin design, performance, and reliability. Bombardier has a worldwide fleet of approximately 5,000 aircraft in service with a wide variety of multinational corporations, charter and fractional ownership providers, governments, and private individuals. Bombardier aircraft are also trusted around the world in government and military
special-mission roles leveraging Bombardier Defense’s proven expertise. 

Headquartered in Greater Montréal, Québec, Bombardier operates aerostructure, assembly and completion facilities in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The company’s robust customer support network services the Learjet, Challenger and Global families of aircraft, and includes facilities in strategic locations in the United States and Canada, as well as in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, the UAE, Singapore, China and Australia.

For corporate news and information, including Bombardier’s Environmental, Social and Governance report, as well as the company’s plans to cover all its flight operations with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) utilizing the Book and Claim system visit bombardier.com. Learn more about Bombardier’s industry-leading products and customer service network at businessaircraft.bombardier.com. Follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.

Bombardier, Global, Challenger and Learjet are registered trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

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