Solvency, accounting for assets and liabilities.......It's really easy to look at Bombardier's balance sheet and to see red all over it. One needs to however realize that many of Bombardier's best tangible assets are valued at "book value".
Many of those tangible assets are worth substancially more than book value on the open market (should the company broken-up and sold-off). Keep in mind the additional financial discipline the CDPQ brings to the table with their investment is also certainly welcomed.
For a quick reference and example of open market value, the "Chinese" in recent years had an opening bid for Bombardier's rail business of $8B (U.S.). It's safe to assume that opening bid wasn't their last and best offer. Now 2 years later I'd wager that BT is now worth even more dollars. Many financial industry people agree that selling BT could - would nearly resolve the whole debt issue.
Another financial solvability indicator is the company's ability to still raise a few billion dollars in a few hours, albeit at a high premium interest level (as recently as a few weeks ago). New York finance folks haven't taken Bombardier this seriously in decades. I'm not saying Bombardier is yet a strong company but it certainly has the potential to pay down debt and today the company's 4 divisions offer more promise of free cash flow than they have in decades.
Weak management, big egos combined with lack of focus got the company into a serious cash squeeze. Looking forward now with excellent and competitive product lines, combined with experienced competent management should now begin to lead this company to profitability.