Hensoldt completes takeover of German defense electronics firm ESG

COLOGNE, Germany — German sensor-maker Hensoldt has completed its purchase of defense electronics and logistics specialist ESG, gaining a foothold in that company’s activities supporting the F-35 fighter jet and P-8 Poseidon anti-submarine plane ordered by Berlin.

The takeover, announced last year as valued at €675 million (U.S. $726 million), took effect April 2 following approval by regulatory authorities here.

“The acquisition adds strong design and system integration capabilities to Hensoldt’s product and solutions business and creates a national champion in defence electronics,” Hensoldt said in a statement.

Hensoldt is a key player in the trinational Future Combat Air System program of Germany, France and Spain, on which the company has worked with ESG in a national consortium to develop the envisioned weapon’s networked sensors and weapons.

American firm Lockheed Martin picked ESG last year to provide logistics support for Germany’s future F-35 fleet of 35 jets. ESG is on tap for similar work for the Boeing-built P-8 Poseidon maritime-surveillance and submarine-hunting aircraft, of which Germany has ordered eight.

According to a Hensoldt statement, ESG employs about 1,400 people in Germany, the Netherlands and the United States, and it generated sales of about €330 million in 2023.

Hensoldt placed 51st in the most recent Defense News Top 100 list, which ranks global defense companies by defense-related revenue. The firm reported a defense revenue of $1.8 billion in 2022.

Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market in the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is based in Cologne, Germany.

德国科隆——德国传感器制造商亨索尔特 (Hensoldt) 已完成对国防电子和物流专家 ESG 的收购，从而在该公司支持柏林订购的 F-35 战斗机和 P-8 海神反潜飞机的活动中站稳了脚跟。

这项收购案于去年宣布，价值 6.75 亿欧元（7.26 亿美元），在获得当地监管机构批准后于 4 月 2 日生效。

“此次收购为亨索尔特的产品和解决方案业务增添了强大的设计和系统集成能力，并打造了国防电子领域的全国冠军企业，”亨索尔特在一份声明中表示。

亨索尔特是德国、法国和西班牙三国未来作战空中系统计划的关键参与者，该公司与ESG组成国家联盟，共同开发设想中的武器联网传感器和武器。

去年，美国洛克希德·马丁公司选择ESG公司为德国未来订购的35架F-35战斗机提供后勤支持。ESG公司还将为波音公司制造的P-8“海神”海上巡逻和反潜巡逻机提供类似的后勤保障服务，德国已订购了8架该型飞机。

根据亨索尔特的一份声明，ESG 在德国、荷兰和美国雇佣了约 1400 名员工，2023 年的销售额约为 3.3 亿欧元。

在最新一期的《防务新闻》全球百强防务公司榜单中，亨索尔特公司位列第51位，该榜单根据防务相关收入对全球防务公司进行排名。该公司2022年的防务收入为18亿美元。

塞巴斯蒂安·斯普伦格是《防务新闻》欧洲版副主编，负责报道该地区的防务市场状况，以及美欧在防务和全球安全领域的合作和多国投资。此前，他曾担任《防务新闻》执行主编。他现居德国科隆。