HAWKER BEECHCRAFT

At the September 2002 NBAA Convention, held in Orlando, Florida, Raytheon Aircraft announced its intention to revert to separate marketing of its Beech and Hawker lines of private and executive aircraft, reducing the emphasis on its corporate name. Raytheon acquired British Aerospace's Corporate Jets division for US$372 million on 6 August 1993; founded Raytheon Corporate Jets Inc at Little Rock, Arkansas, with responsibility for design, development, production and support of renamed Hawker family of corporate jets. Hawker name derived by Raytheon from Hawker Siddeley, parent company of de Havilland at conception of DH/HS/BAe 125 twin-jet, which forms basis of the current Hawker line. Raytheon Corporate Jets included in Raytheon Aircraft Company upon its foundation on 15 September 1994. Former Beechjet 400A added to Hawker line in May 2003.
In 2006, Raytheon sold the company to a consortium of Goldman Sachs and Onex Corporation. This deal left the company with a heavy burden of debt which it struggled to support from the economic crisis of 2008 onwards. In April 2012 it defaulted on interest payments and was in breach of banking covenants; this caused widespread speculation that it would enter bankruptcy.
On 3 May 2012, the company entered bankruptcy, filing voluntary petitions under Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code in US Bankruptcy Court. The bankruptcy resulted in the company accepting an offer to be purchased by Superior Aviation Beijing. By 18 October 2012 the negotiations for the sale had failed and the company decided to cease jet production and exited bankruptcy on its own on 19 February 2013, under a new name, Beechcraft Corporation.