Oct 15 (Reuters) - Boeing ( BA ) filed papers with the

U.S. markets regulator on Tuesday for raising up to $25 billion

through a stock and debt offering and entered into a $10 billion

credit agreement amid a crippling strike and upcoming debt

maturities.

The planemaker is looking to strengthen its finances

that have been strained due to a slump in production of its

best-selling 737 MAX jet following a

door panel blowout

and a

strike by thousands of union workers

.

It was not clear when and how much Boeing ( BA ) will raise via the

stock offering, but analysts and investors expect the company to

raise money before the year-end as debt maturities loom.

Shares of the planemaker reversed course to trade down

0.3% in premarket trading.

Boeing ( BA ) said in a statement it had not drawn on the new $10

billion credit facility or its existing credit revolver.

"These are two prudent steps to support the company's access

to liquidity," Boeing ( BA ) said, adding that the credit agreement

provides additional short term access to liquidity as it

navigates through a "challenging environment."

"This universal shelf registration provides flexibility for

the company to seek a variety of capital options as needed to

support the company's balance sheet over a three year period,"

Boeing ( BA ) said, referring to its filing with the U.S. Securities

and Exchange Commission.

The company had cash and cash equivalents of $10.89 billion

as of June 30.

STRIKE COSTS

The strike is costing the company more than $1 billion per

month, according to one estimate that was released before Boeing ( BA )

announced it will cut 17,000 jobs or 10% of its global

workforce.

The planemaker was already reeling due to a

regulator-imposed cap on production of its MAX jets after a

mid-air cabin-panel blowout in January.

Last month, Chief Financial Officer Brian West said at a

Morgan Stanley conference that the company was "constantly

evaluating our capital structure and liquidity levels to ensure

that we could satisfy our debt maturities over the next 18

months while keeping confidence in our credit rating as

investment grade."

Boeing ( BA ) has $11.5 billion of debt maturing through Feb. 1,

2026, and has committed to issuing $4.7 billion of its shares to

acquire Spirit AeroSystems and assume its debt.

Reuters reported earlier this month Boeing ( BA ) was examining

options to raise billions of dollars through a sale of stock and

equity-like securities.

Boeing ( BA ) delivered 33 jets in September, down from 40 in

August.

(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram and Utkarsh Shetti in

Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila, Shounak Dasgupta and

Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)