Boeing acquired McDonnell Douglas in 1997.
The transaction was announced in December 1996 and completed on August 1, 1997. Boeing used its own name after the merger, while McDonnell Douglas’s major aircraft programs continued within the enlarged company. The deal joined two of the most important American aerospace manufacturers.
McDonnell Douglas had been formed in 1967 through the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and Douglas Aircraft. Its products included the DC-9, MD-80, MD-11, F-15 Eagle, F/A-18 Hornet, and C-17 Globemaster III. Several of these programs remained important to Boeing after the acquisition.
The merger is sometimes described as Boeing buying McDonnell Douglas, but it was formally structured as a stock-for-stock transaction. Boeing’s headquarters remained in Seattle for its commercial-airplane operations, while the combined company retained substantial facilities in St. Louis and elsewhere.