Boeing Co.'s proposed $3.2 billion acquisition of Rockwell International Corp.'s aerospace and defense business includes a provision for Boeing to assume some $100 million of pension liabilities for Rockwell's non-defense retirees. The little-known provision is part of the negotiated price.
Because the Boeing and Rockwell pension plans are overfunded, some sources said, the transfer of pension liabilities allows Boeing to use its surplus as part of the purchase negotiations without terminating the plan.
``Since they can't touch the surplus (without paying a 20% excise tax), they could assign that surplus to a known liability they were assuming and then knock down the sales price of the overall purchase by the $100 million amount,'' said an actuary.
