Belgium’s Cockerill to buy French armored-vehicle maker Arquus

PARIS — Belgian engineering company John Cockerill said Monday it has agreed to buy French military vehicle maker Arquus from Volvo Group for an undisclosed amount, adding a range of wheeled armored carriers and military trucks to its offerings.

John Cockerill expects defense revenue of €1 billion (U.S. $1.1 billion) by 2026 from the combination of its defense division with Arquus, it said in a statement , adding that the acquisition will boost the company’s footprint in the global land defense market.

The deal would more than double John Cockerill’s defense business, combining its turrets and firing systems with the supplier of 90% of the French army’s wheeled vehicles. Arquus already offers a fire-support version of its VAB Mk3 armored personnel carrier with a 90mm turret from John Cockerill.

“The combined offer of light tank turrets and vehicles from John Cockerill Defense and Arquus will generate important synergies that will result in more innovative and more competitive vehicles to equip land forces around the world,” John Cockerill chief executive Francois Michel said in the statement.

Michel said the planned acquisition will be “transformative” for the European defense industry in the area of light tanks. The acquisition will allow John Cockerill to offer “the best level of quality and cost competitiveness” for both light tank turrets and military vehicles, the company said.

Volvo Group said it signed an option agreement with John Cockerill Defense that gives the company the right to sell Arquus after mandatory consultations with staff representatives, which are expected to be finalized by the end of March. Closing of the deal would be subject to government approvals, the Swedish company said.

John Cockerill Defense and Arquus target a staff of 2,000 people by 2026, with major operational centers in Belgium, France, India and Saudi Arabia. The combination would be a major step to industrially supporting the coordinated vehicle sourcing programs of the French and Belgian land forces, John Cockerill said.

The Belgian company in January 2023 merged its French defense business with its Agueris training-simulator unit, part of a bid to strengthen its commitment to France’s defense industrial and technological base.

John Cockerill reported 2022 sales of €1.05 billion, including a declining contribution from its defense business, which posted revenue of around €240 million in 2021. Arquus posted 2022 revenue of €559 million and operating profit of €21.5 million, according to company filings.

Volvo Group said it will take a charge of 700 million Swedish kronor (U.S. $87 million) for the sale of Arquus against 2023 fourth-quarter operating income.

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——比利时工程公司约翰·科克里尔（John Cockerill）周一表示，已同意从沃尔沃集团手中收购法国军用车辆制造商Arquus，收购金额未公开，这将为其产品线增加一系列轮式装甲运兵车和军用卡车。

John Cockerill 在一份声明中表示，预计到 2026 年，其国防部门与 Arquus 合并后，国防收入将达到 10 亿欧元（11 亿美元）。声明还补充说，此次收购将提升公司在全球陆地防御市场的份额。

这项交易将使约翰·科克里尔公司的防务业务规模扩大一倍以上，将其炮塔和火控系统与法国陆军90%轮式车辆的供应商Arquus公司合并。Arquus公司目前已在其VAB Mk3装甲运兵车上提供火力支援版本，该版本配备了约翰·科克里尔公司生产的90毫米炮塔。

“John Cockerill Defense 和 Arquus 联合提供的轻型坦克炮塔和车辆将产生重要的协同效应，从而为世界各地的陆军提供更具创新性和竞争力的装备，”John Cockerill 首席执行官 Francois Michel 在声明中表示。

米歇尔表示，此次收购计划将对欧洲轻型坦克领域的国防工业产生“变革性”影响。该公司称，此次收购将使约翰·科克里尔公司能够为轻型坦克炮塔和军用车辆提供“最高质量和最具成本竞争力的产品”。

沃尔沃集团表示，已与约翰·科克里尔防务公司签署了一项选择权协议，该协议赋予沃尔沃在与员工代表进行强制性磋商后出售Arquus的权利，磋商预计将于3月底完成。这家瑞典公司表示，交易完成尚需获得政府批准。

John Cockerill Defense 和 Arquus 计划到 2026 年将员工人数扩充至 2000 人，并在比利时、法国、印度和沙特阿拉伯设立主要运营中心。John Cockerill 表示，此次合并将是为法国和比利时陆军的协同车辆采购项目提供工业支持的重要一步。

2023 年 1 月，这家比利时公司将其法国国防业务与其 Agueris 训练模拟器部门合并，此举旨在加强其对法国国防工业和技术基础的承诺。

John Cockerill 公布 2022 年销售额为 10.5 亿欧元，其中包括国防业务贡献的下降，该业务 2021 年的收入约为 2.4 亿欧元。根据公司文件，Arquus 公布 2022 年收入为 5.59 亿欧元，营业利润为 2150 万欧元。

沃尔沃集团表示，将因出售 Arquus 而计提 7 亿瑞典克朗（8700 万美元）的费用，该费用将从 2023 年第四季度营业收入中扣除。

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。