All the news on the sale of Oto Melara and Wass
Maximum attention of the government on strategic defense dossiers, such as the sale of Oto Melara and Wass by Leonardo. On the one hand the European players Knds and Rheinmetall and on the other the nationals Fincantieri and Iveco in the match. And the CDP …
"Maximum attention of the government on strategic defense dossiers", such as the sale of Oto Melara and Wass, the two controlled land and naval armaments put up for sale by Leonardo to raise cash.
This is the position expressed after the November 24 summit at Mise between ministers Daniele Franco (Mef), Giancarlo Giorgetti (Mise) and Lorenzo Guerini (Defense).
Due diligence has been underway for a few weeks. More than one proposal on the table, none binding at the moment.
The French-German consortium Knds has put 650/700 million euros on the plate. With the guarantee of no job cuts and the prospect of bringing Oto Melara into the MGCS project, the tank of the future.
The Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has also made its offer, 250 million lower than that of Knds according to press sources.
"The government will quickly evaluate suitable solutions to safeguard the national interest in the enhancement of strategic assets and the development of employment also within the framework of possible agreements at European level" say executive sources.
"According to the first interpretations in circles close to the dossier, this would mean putting all the national players at the table (including Iveco defense vehicles, Oto's partner) and considering the hypothesis of stew between the two suitors who presented a purchase proposal: Fincantieri for naval armaments, the Franco-German group Knds for land armaments ”writes Il Sole 24 Ore .
“But the rumors seem to indicate that the hypothesis of a sale to the Franco-German consortium Knds is on the rise”, reports Repubblica . The latter "would have presented a more structured offer than that of Fincantieri, focused on the" protection of the Italian character "of the companies".
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Draghi signed the Quirinale Treaty with his French counterpart Macron . "The discussions on the possible sale of Oto Melara and Wass by Leonardo to a French rival could prove to be an initial test" of the Italy-France relationship, wrote the Ft .
All the details.
THE HYPOTHESIS ON WHICH THE GOVERNMENT AIMS
The most accredited hypothesis is that the Oto Melara (naval artillery), with guarantees of maintaining its Italian character, goes to Knds while the Wass (torpedoes) would be destined for Fincantieri.
At the moment Oto Melara and Wass employ more than 1,500 workers in four Italian factories (La Spezia, Brescia, Livorno and Pozzuoli).
On the Italian side, the interest would be that of Leonardo to be the third party of the consortium (with the purchase of a share) thus also entering the orders that this activates.
KNDS BETS ON THE MGCS PROGRAM …
As Repubblica points out, Knds would guarantee "full employment and even an increase in places in the Oto plants in La Spezia and Brescia" through two military programs of European scope. That is the MGCS, the Franco-German initiative European tank project and the tracked combat vehicle IFV.
The Italian Aics (Armored infantry combat system) program provides for the purchase of 679 tracked armored vehicles with which to replace the now obsolete IFV Dardo and M113. In the 2021-2023 Defense DPP, the government has budgeted 2.141 billion until 2035.
… AND AICS
“A supply that is tempting to the Knds consortium. For this reason, a role in the project of the Iveco Defense of Bolzano and of Leonardo itself for the viewers would also be contracted out ”, underlines Repubblica .
But in Italy the defense industry players have already moved.
According to Rid , Leonardo would have already presented together with Iveco Defense Vechicles an offer to the Italian Army for the Aics program. The former Finmeccanica with Oto Melara works in consortium with Iveco Defense, CIO, leader of the land armaments industry. But even before Leonardo, the German Rheinmetall had also put forward his proposal at the beginning of the year.
WHAT FINCANTIERI WILL DO
According to the “stew” hypothesis, Fincantieri would aim at the naval business of Oto Melara and the torpedoes produced by Wass, and Knds at the land activities of Oto Melara.
Leonardo would emerge as the winner from this solution: both in terms of cash (it must in fact cover the outlay of 600 million euros for the purchase of 25% of the German Hensoldt) and in terms of higher volumes in the electronics business.
“It remains to be seen whether it will be possible to find an agreement between these two actors, since Fincantieri is not in dialogue with Knds but with one of its competitors, the German Rheinmetall, which has proposed a double« land and naval »alliance to the Defense. In addition to having an interest in a joint venture with Oto, Rheinmetall discusses with Fincantieri for the purchase of the German shipyards of Tkms, which produce submarines ”highlights Il Sole 24 Ore .
THE ROLE OF RHEINMETALL
"Leonardo, however, is not willing to sell the armaments companies to Rheinmetall, his competitor in defense electronics," the Confindustria newspaper pointed out. In fact, the German defense giant produces combat crawlers but also electronic equipment.
In competition therefore with the former Finmeccanica who “wants to reserve the role of electronics supplier for companies to be divested”.
“Furthermore, Leonardo does not consider the Rheinmetall option admissible because this group has not presented a purchase proposal for Oto and Wass, in the procedure conducted by the advisor Rothschild”, underlines Il Sole 24 Ore .
CAPITAL INCREASE FOR THE TRIESTE NAVAL GROUP?
For Fincantieri, the press speaks of a capital increase of one billion, supported by the controlling shareholder Cdp. The naval group led by Giuseppe Bono is controlled with 71% by Cdp Industria (Cdp group).
A recapitalization of this entity compares with Fincantieri's current market capitalization of around € 1 billion.
The shares of the group lost more than 4.6% on Thursday to close the session at € 0.61 in the wake of rumors of the capital increase.
THE ROLE OF CDP?
Finally, "according to a government source, Cdp, the Mef subsidiary that holds 71.3% of Fincantieri, could also be involved in the table" concludes Il Sole 24 Ore . "CDP could be asked to play a double role: to provide the money to Fincantieri for the purchase, […], or to intervene directly with a stake in the« Newco »which would be the vehicle for the acquisition".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/tutte-le-novita-sulla-vendita-di-oto-melara-e-wass/ on Sun, 28 Nov 2021 19:16:08 +0000.