Wichita ? Amid a rebounding business jet market, Raytheon Co. announced Thursday it was exploring options for its Wichita aircraft unit – including a possible sale, initial public offering or a spinoff.

William H. Swanson, Raytheon’s chairman and chief executive officer, told analysts during a conference call that the decision to possibly sell the Wichita division came after the company took “a hard look at our product portfolio.” He did not provide any more details.

Raytheon Aircraft employs more than 6,300 Wichita workers, a number that has remained steady for the last two to three years. The company, which makes Beechcraft, Bonanza and Hawker jets, has been rumored to be on the market for several years.

For workers and the community, Mike Turner, spokesman for Raytheon Aircraft in Wichita, said, “It is strictly business as usual since the announcement.”

Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon Co. is the parent company of Raytheon Aircraft, the Wichita-based unit that traces its Kansas roots to 1932, when Beech Aircraft Corp. was founded here by Walter and Olive Ann Beech. The company became a subsidiary of Raytheon Co. in 1980.

Jim Schuster, chairman and CEO of Raytheon Aircraft, said it was important for people to understand that the unit could remain part of Raytheon Co.

“Raytheon Aircraft Co. is a healthy business, we are growing and the market is strong,” he said in a written statement. “We have some of the most talented employees and the best products in the industry. Raytheon Co. felt that the time was right to explore strategic alternatives.”

Raytheon Aircraft employees work on the assembly line at the plant in Wichita. Amid a rebounding business-jet market, Raytheon Co. announced Thursday it was exploring options for its Wichita aircraft unit, including a possible sale, initial public offering or a spinoff.

William Alderman, president of the Connecticut aerospace investment banking firm Alderman & Co., said the corporate aircraft market was very good now. He cited a strong economy and reasonable interest rates, and noted that customer frustration with commercial airline service had led some people to buy their own small airplanes.

Raytheon needs to heavily reinvest in its aircraft company to compete with Bombardier Aerospace, Gulfstream and Dassault, a French aerospace corporation, he said.

“If the board determines not to reinvest, now would be an optimal time to divest – and apparently that is the decision the board has made. They are unwilling to reinvest in this business and deem it a better financial alternative to divest,” he said.

Raytheon Aircraft had meetings scheduled with employees Thursday to reassure them they would see little change in day-to-day business and to explain the announcement, Turner said.

The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents workers at Raytheon, issued a statement after the announcement saying the union had been aware for some time that Raytheon was exploring options for its Wichita unit.

“We are determined to hold them to the contract they have signed, and we intend to do everything possible to protect our members, their families and this community from any cut-and-run strategy Raytheon might consider,” the union said in the statement.

Richard Aboulafia, vice president of analysis at the Fairfax, Va.-based Teal Group, said it was a “virtual certainty” the plant would remain in Wichita even if it were sold, saying it’s rare for companies to move production lines after buying another business.

“They always use it as a threat, but the reality is the current location has tremendous advantage,” he said. “Companies often use the threat of movement as a way of getting concessions.”

Aircraft industry analysts agree most interest from buyers would come from private equity funds with a financial rather than strategic interest in the company.

“There is too much product line overlap from all the other players,” Aboulafia said, noting that Bombardier Aerospace, Cessna Aircraft and General Dynamics Corp.’s Gulfstream all have aircraft models that compete with Raytheon. Bombardier and Cessna already have plants in Wichita.