Boeing Statement On EADS Bid

Boeing (BA) issued a press release last night in response to EADS’ (EADS:P) decision to bid on the contract. In part it reads:

“We are confident in the superior value and capabilities of our NewGen Tanker and intend to present a compelling case for it in our proposal. While we are disappointed in the bid submission delay, we hope for a fair and transparent competition free of any additional changes intended to accommodate a non-U.S. prime contractor.

We also remain deeply concerned about the ability of a heavily subsidized Airbus/EADS to accept levels of financial risk that a commercial company such as Boeing cannot. We regret that these concerns will not be addressed in the bid evaluation, even when the U.S. government has proven in a world court that those subsidies are illegal and directly distort competition between Airbus and Boeing.”

It will be an interesting competition.