By Jacquie McNish and Paul Vieira 

TORONTO -- Airbus SE is acquiring a 50.01% stake in Bombardier Inc's CSeries jets in a bid to restore market confidence in the struggling passenger aircraft.

Airbus CEO Tom Enders said the company was not investing any money upfront for its majority stake, but it will provide ongoing funding support. When the partnership deal closes, Bombardier will be left with a 31% stake in the CSeries

Canada's Innovation Minister, Navdeep Bains, said in a statement the Airbus-Bombardier pact would be subject to a review under the country's foreign-investment laws. Under Canadian law, the government reserves the right to reject a foreign takeover or investment if officials deem the transaction would not bring a substantial benefit to the economy.

However, Mr. Bains said that "on the surface," the Airbus deal for Bombardier's CSeries "would help position the C Series for success by combining excellence in innovation with increased market access and an unrivaled global salesforce."

Canada has been a crucial backer of the CSeries. It provided financial assistance earlier this year to Bombardier, in terms of a C$372.5 million loan, to help the company develop the CSeries and Global 700 aircraft. However, the federal financing was short of the initial demand from Bombardier for a $1 billion lifeline.

Write to Jacquie McNish at Jacquie.McNish@wsj.com and Paul Vieira at paul.vieira@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 16, 2017 19:55 ET (23:55 GMT)