NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) May 1, 2006--Boeing Co. (A/Stable/A-1) announced today that has reached an agreement to acquire Aviall Inc. (BB/Watch Pos/--) for $2 billion, including $350 million of assumed debt. Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said that its ratings and outlook on Boeing are not affected by this announcement. Boeing has ample liquidity to fund this transaction, with cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of close to $10 billion at March 31, 2006. Aviall is the largest independent distributor of new aftermarket parts to the aviation industry and had $1.3 billion in sales in 2005. The acquisition enables Boeing to provide additional ancillary products and services to its airline and military customers, as well as expand into a
