Latest news with #PantherKF51
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
With Iveco Defence up for sale, Italy may lose a key military supplier
ROME — Prospective buyers are lining up to acquire Iveco Defence Vehicles - Italy's biggest military vehicle maker - and the Italian government may struggle to stop it being sold overseas, a source has told Defense News. The chief supplier of fighting vehicles to the Italian army, IDV could be sold by year's end by its parent company Iveco, which is owned by the Exor Group, which is the largest shareholder in car maker Stellantis and controlled by the Italian Agnelli family. On May 15 Iveco said IDV would be spun off this year, with a possible sale to follow. 'By the end of the year the spin-off will start and in the meantime offers to buy the firm will be evaluated,' said a spokesperson. 'We have had preliminary offers from various strategic players,' said CFO Anna Tanganelli. Last year IDV saw revenue rise by 15% to €1.1 billion ($1.3 billion) as land-warfare budgets grow around the world in response to the Ukraine war. One firm has publicly thrown its hat in the ring to date. On May 8, the CEO of Italian defense giant Leonardo, Roberto Cingolani, said Leonardo had put in a joint offer with Germany's Rheinmetall. Leonardo and Rheinmetall are already in business with a joint venture announced last year to build 1,050 new infantry fighting vehicles for the Italian army based on the Rheinmetall Lynx and 132 tanks based on Rheinmetall's under-development Panther KF51. IDV also has a slice of the huge Italian vehicle order. In December it said it had signed a deal with Leonardo to take 12-15% of the development and production work on the deal, which has been valued at €23 billion. Leonardo and IDV already had a longstanding joint venture in place, called CIO, which builds VBM wheeled fighting vehicles and wheeled Centauro tanks for the Italian army. An industrial source said Leonardo offered to buy IDV for €750 million last year but was turned down. 'They could have had it if they'd offered a billion, but they didn't,' said the source. Meanwhile, numerous firms from around the world are reportedly ready to put in offers for IDV, with Spanish media suggesting Spain's Indra is ready to pay €1 billion, while U.S. funds and French-German consortium KNDS also reportedly keen. BAE Systems will be seen as possible bidder after it announced on Thursday a partnership between BAE Systems Hägglunds and IDV to offer its BvS10 all-terrain vehicle to the Italian army, with design and manufacturing to happen in Italy. BAE already builds amphibious vehicles with IDV for the U.S. Marines. The industrial source said however that given IDV's ties to the Italian military and to Leonardo, there would be reluctance to see it sold to an overseas buyer. 'The Italian army and members of the government would like IDV to stay Italian,' said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations. But Cingolani has suggested Leonardo will be reluctant to pay top dollar just to keep IDV Italian, and Exor will likely be seeking maximum profit on the sale of a firm which is flush with work, knowing the firms outside Europe are increasingly interested in buying EU businesses as the bloc builds up its defense war chest. One solution being touted in the Italian media is that the Italian government use its so-called 'Golden Power' law, which can be used to control or block the sale of strategic Italian firms. But an Italian expert on the law said it might not be applicable in the case of IDV. 'The law is usually used to impose conditions for a new buyer, as occurred when GE bought Italian firm Avio Aero, or to stop a purchase by a buyer considered potentially hostile. But there has never been a case when it was used to exclude one or more bidders in a group of bidders,' said the source, who declined to be named. 'If the Italian government, which has a controlling stake in Leonardo, blocks a sale to Indra for example, could that be legally challenged as market interference? Indra is not China,' said the source.
Yahoo
16-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rheinmetall's stock has soared over 1,000%, and the German defense giant sees growth ‘that we have never experienced before'
German defense contractor Rheinmetall's stock price has skyrocketed more than 1,000% since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. As the EU plans a €800 billion boost in defense spending, Rheinmetall expects growth to remain strong. German defense contractor Rheinmetall sees unprecedented gains ahead as Europe embarks on a massive military buildup, even after reporting already-strong growth. Headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, the company reported 2024 total revenue of €9.8 billion on Wednesday, up 36% from 2023. The defense business led the company's sales growth last year, surging 50% to €7.6 billion. Additionally, the backlog increased 44% to €55 billion a new record high. Last year's growth was helped by Europe's continued military aid for Ukraine. Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Rheinmetall's stock price has climbed more than 1,000%. Meanwhile, the European Union recently announced plans to increase its defense spending by €800 billion ($867 billion) as historic US allies seek to take more responsibility for their security. 'An era of rearmament has begun in Europe that will demand a lot from all of us,' CEO Armin Papperger said in a statement. 'However, it also brings us at Rheinmetall growth prospects for the coming years that we have never experienced before.' For this year, Rheinmetall expects total sales to increase 25%-30% and defense sales to climb 35%-40%. While those numbers would fall short of 2024's, actual sales by the end of the year could turn out to be even bigger. Rheinmetall noted in its report the outlook does not take into account 'geopolitical developments in recent weeks,' saying updates to its forecasts could come later as requirements of its military customers become clearer. 'With a 50% sales growth in the defence business, Rheinmetall is on its way from being a European systems supplier to a global champion,' Papperger said. In recent years, the European leader in munition production invested nearly €8 billion in new manufacturing facilities, acquisitions, and supply-chain security. In January, Rheinmetall announced it acquired a majority share in a Bavarian software developer that specializes in digitizing warfare. In addition to manufacturing missiles and bombs, Rheinmetall also makes tanks, air-defense systems, and autonomous ground vehicles. Most notably, it produces the Panther KF51 main battle tank. A major supplier to Ukraine, Rheinmetall has plants in the war-torn country along with Lithuania, Hungary, and Romania. Additionally, the company looks to continue its growth in Germany and is reportedly interested in a Volkswagen plant in Osnabrük. On Wednesday, Papperger said the facility would be 'very suitable' for the company's expansion plans and would be more affordable than building a factory from the ground up. Papperger cautioned that while there was no concept for Rheinmetall to move onto Volkswagen's turf, things could still move quickly. 'One thing is clear: before I'll build a new tank factory in Germany, we'll of course take a look at it,' he said. This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
