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Oto Melara, Wass and more. All the possible synergies between Italy and Germany

Oto Melara, Wass and more. All the possible synergies between Italy and Germany

Not only Oto Melara and Wass. For the Italian ambassador in Berlin, Varricchio, there is a "new season" for collaboration in the defense industry between Germany and Italy.

Italy and Germany have entered a "new season" in collaboration for the defense industry, with a "much more integrated dimension".

This is what was stated by the Italian ambassador to Berlin, Armando Varricchio , during a meeting with the Italian press at his mission, held yesterday on the occasion of the visit of the Undersecretary for European Affairs, Enzo Amendola, to the German capital. The Nova Agency reports .

Among the dossiers on the table, Leonardo's sale of Oto Melara and Wass stands out.

After completing the acquisition of 25.1% of Hensoldt , a German defense electronics company, the group led by Alessandro Profumo is looking to sell its two land and naval armaments subsidiaries. And among the bidders there are the Franco-German consortium Knds on the one hand and the national shipbuilding giant Fincantieri on the other. In the background, also the interest of another German player: Rheinmetall Italia.

THE KNDS CONSORTIUM PROPOSAL

According to journalistic reconstructions, the offer of Knds (650 million) exceeds that of Fincantieri (450 million, which can be increased to 550 million). For the offer by Fincantieri, a group controlled by Cdp Equity with 71.32%, there is talk of the need for a capital increase supported by its main shareholder Cdp .

But in a hearing at the Chamber's Defense and Productive Activities Committees at the end of December, Profumo underlined that the group will make a decision considering various aspects: not only the price offered, but also the possibility of international cooperation.

"Knds is potentially an interesting partner because it has 75% of the Main battle tank program and does not compete with Leonardo on electronics," said Profumo, adding that Italy would benefit from being part of the European tank project of the future. Main Ground Combat System (Mgcs).

ABOUT THE OTO MELARA-WASS TRANSFER

Regarding the Oto Melara-Wass issue, the acquisition of which the Franco-German defense consortium Knds is interested in, Ambassador Varricchio observed: “This is one of the areas, as is shipbuilding”.

THE OPERATION WITH THE GERMAN SHIPYARDS OF TKMS

The Italo-German industrial maneuvers are not limited to the land segment but also involve the shipbuilding sector.

In Germany, Fincantieri is buying together with the German Rheinmetall Tkms, the defense division of Thyssenkrupp which builds submarines and surface ships.

Indeed, Fincantieri's offer for Oto Melara and Wass includes Rheinmetall in an informal way. In the event of the award of the former Oto Melara, the shipbuilding group led by Giuseppe Bono will need a terrestrial partner and that can only be Rheinmetall given the joint operation on Tkms.

THE INTEREST OF RHEINMETALL ITALIA

The German Rheinmetall also looks to the terrestrial subsidiary of Leonardo, as explained in the hearing in the Defense and Productive Activities committees of the Chamber, the CEO of Rheinmetall Italia, Alessandro Ercolani.

“We are certainly available to evaluate a cooperation discussion, as we had already done last January , we anticipated the interest in developing Oto Melara's growth in the terrestrial field”. The German group has informally expressed to the government its interest in Oto Melara for an industrial collaboration.

In fact, Rheinmetall Italia's strategy concerns the creation of a new CIO, a land armaments consortium that includes 33% Rheinmetall, with the aim of participating in the programs of the new tanks (the new light tank for the Aifv and Mgcs Army).

"GERMANY WATCHES ITALY WITH GREAT INTEREST"

If in recent months the Franco-German defense axis seemed to be cracking, perhaps Italy will insinuate itself? "From the moment we talk about Europe's strategic autonomy, there is no strategic autonomy without a strong defense industry and Germany looks with great interest to Italy, which also wants to appreciate its presence in Germany" he said. concluded the diplomat.


This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/oto-melara-wass-e-non-solo-tutte-le-possibili-sinergie-tra-italia-e-germania/ on Fri, 21 Jan 2022 06:28:28 +0000.