Oto Melara (Leonardo), the Meloni government is studying Rheinmetall’s proposal
Before the summer, Rheinmetall had come forward with a proposal to Leonardo to acquire a minority stake in Oto Melara (Leonardo). "At the moment the proposal is being examined by the new executive who will have to decide which direction to take", the company says. Facts and insights
The Oto Melara dossier (with Rheinmetall's proposal) is on the table of the Meloni government which is expected to make a decision in the coming weeks.
Rheinmetall Italia made it known during the event "Perspectives and Supply Chain Growth" organized by the company led by Alessandro Ercolani, radar house of the German giant Rheinmetall, in collaboration with Aiad.
"At the moment the proposal is being examined by the new executive who will have to decide which direction to take" underlines the company. The German defense group Rheinmetall wants to invest in Italy by purchasing up to 49% of Oto Melara, the land-based armaments subsidiary put up for sale by Leonardo together with the other Wass unit. At the end of May, the company led by Armin Papperger presented a non-binding offer to Leonardo worth between 190 and 210 million euros for the former Oto.
“Our idea is to consolidate the terrestrial and create a third terrestrial defense pole alongside the already existing aeronautical pole and naval pole. In other words, to create a terrestrial pole that can above all be capable of going to Europe and collecting funds from the EDF (European Defense Fund) both abroad with that critical mass necessary to be able to export” explains Rheinmetall Italia.
The Franco-German consortium Knds and Fincantieri have also expressed interest in Oto Melara-Wass. “Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo said on July 28 that the group is working to reach an agreement for the sale of its firearms subsidiary, Oto Melara, and its naval torpedo specialist, Wass, but it needed a new government to be able to finalize any potential deal,” Banca Akros analysts highlighted last September, quoted by MF .
In fact, the last word belongs to the government, which controls Leonardo (30% through the MEF). Expected news already in the coming weeks according to the company.
All the details.
RHEINMETALL'S PROPOSAL FOR OTO MELARA
As already explained in parliamentary hearings by the CEO of Rheinmetall Italy Alessandro Ercolani, Rheinmetall proposes itself as a strategic partner of our country in the land sector. In this way, the Italian-German axis on defense would be strengthened, which started precisely with the acquisition of 25.1% of Hensoldt, a German defense electronics company, by Leonardo.
As emerges from the proposal sent to Leonardo – which Startmag has read – the growth strategy for Oto Melara would be identified in the future land programs for infantry.
Starting from the new light tank — Aifv — to replace the Dardo up to the participation in the program of the future European tank.
"The Mbt program is expected from 2035, and Italy could play an essential role: not only in 15 years but also in the study phase currently underway", Papperger had underlined to Sole 24 Ore in the spring.
In these programs, the combination of Rheinmetall and Oto Melara would give life to a national military pole functional to the consolidation of the Italian land sector.
CREATING A TERRESTRIAL POLE OF THE ITALIAN DEFENSE
All of this is part of the vision that has as its objective the creation of a national center of excellence in the land sector, led and managed by Oto Melara itself, which will immediately have to focus on the program for the new Infantry Fighting Vehicle. and about the future European tank Mbt.
"Precisely in the Oto Melara plants we see the epicenter of terrestrial industrial activity acting as an "aggregator" for the other national players so as to achieve that "international and European" dimension necessary to face the imminent challenges" he explained in a hearing to the Chamber last December Alessandro Ercolani, CEO of Rheinmetall Italy.
In particular on the tracked vehicle programmes, Rheinmetall is the leading supplier, it will guarantee high-level integration with Oto Melara, with the possibility of creating a center of expertise in Italy.
If the Army were to choose the German Lynx proposed by Rheinmetall to replace the Dardo, it would still be an Italian Lynx, produced in the Oto Melara factories. Furthermore, our country could obtain the integration of the turret produced by Oto-Melara and Leonardo sensors on the vehicle.
Again in its non-binding offer, Rheinmetall mentions the possibility of deepening industrial relations also with Leonardo itself.
“The idea is to bring together the Italian land sector in a virtuous circle” observes Rheinmetall, to face both “internal and external competition with one's own qualities and excellence (such as the Oto Melara turrets or the 'electronics) entering a world that is a bit that of aeronautics in which, taking Leonardo as an example, fundamental components are produced for programs that guarantee work cycles of 30/40 years (such as the Eurofighter and Tornado programmes”.
WHAT WILL THE NEW GOVERNMENT DECIDE?
So now wait for the Meloni executive to decide the future of Oto Melara-Wass. In particular to the ministers who follow the dossier (Guido Crosetto at the Defence, Giancarlo Giorgetti at the Mef and Adolfo Urso at the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy).
“It is naive to think that an Italian military pole can be competitive on its own, but when we go to discuss the European defense industry we must present ourselves as best we can to play our cards. We have excellence, quality, competence, we absolutely have to do it, is the direction given by the Government, also because it is clear that the demand for defense in Europe will be particularly conspicuous and accelerated in the coming years” Giancarlo Giorgetti (at the time owner of the del Mise and now at the Treasury) answering a question on the Italian military pole, on the sidelines of the visit to Fincantieri in Monfalcone last May.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/oto-melara-leonardo-il-governo-meloni-sta-studiando-la-proposta-di-rheinmetall/ on Wed, 23 Nov 2022 06:40:10 +0000.