With torpedo firm buy, Fincantieri eyes $100bn undersea-defense market

ROME — Italian state shipyard Fincantieri has completed the purchase of Italian torpedo firm WASS for a price that could reach €415 million ($428 million) as it strengthens its undersea activity.

Fincantieri started talks last year to buy WASS from fellow Italian state-controlled group Leonardo, which has been seeking to sell the firm for a number of years as it focuses on aerospace activities.

Fincantieri, which builds cruise ships, naval vessels and submarines, has for its part being bulking up its undersea business, from sensors to drones, as threats to the world’s sub-sea infrastructure increase.

“With this acquisition Fincantieri integrates unique expertise in underwater acoustic technologies and advanced weapons systems, consolidating its leadership in the underwater domain,” the firm said in a statement.

Fincantieri said it had paid Leonardo a fixed price of €287 million, which could rise to up to €415 million depending on WASS’s 2024 results, which have yet to be announced. In 2023, the firm generated revenue of approximately €160 million.

Fincantieri predicts the global undersea defense business will see €94 billion in spending between 2024 and 2030. WASS holds a fifty-percent share in the GEIE EuroTorp consortium with Naval Group and Thales, which builds the MU90 light torpedo, and operates at facilities in Livorno and Pozzuoli in Italy.

WASS, or Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei, traces its origins to Englishman John Whitehead, who developed the world’s first effective self propelled torpedo in 1875 in Fiume – then part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, now in Croatia. In 1995 the firm became part of the Italian Finmeccanica group, which has since been renamed Leonardo.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利国有造船厂芬坎蒂尼集团已完成对意大利鱼雷公司 WASS 的收购，收购价格可能高达 4.15 亿欧元（4.28 亿美元），此举旨在加强其水下业务。

去年，芬坎蒂尼集团开始与另一家意大利国有控股集团莱昂纳多就收购 WASS 进行谈判。莱昂纳多集团多年来一直寻求出售 WASS，因为它专注于航空航天业务。

芬坎蒂尼造船厂主要建造游轮、海军舰艇和潜艇，随着世界海底基础设施面临的威胁日益增加，该公司一直在大力发展其海底业务，从传感器到无人机，无所不包。

“通过此次收购，芬坎蒂尼集团整合了水下声学技术和先进武器系统方面的独特专业知识，巩固了其在水下领域的领先地位，”该公司在一份声明中表示。

芬坎蒂尼集团表示，已向莱昂纳多支付了2.87亿欧元的固定收购价，该价格最高可达4.15亿欧元，具体金额取决于WASS公司2024年的业绩，目前尚未公布。2023年，WASS的营收约为1.6亿欧元。

芬坎蒂尼集团预测，2024 年至 2030 年间，全球水下防御业务的支出将达到 940 亿欧元。WASS 公司持有 GEIE EuroTorp 财团 50% 的股份，该财团由法国海军集团和泰雷兹集团组成，负责建造 MU90 轻型鱼雷，并在意大利利沃诺和波佐利设有生产设施。

WASS，即怀特黑德阿莱尼亚水下系统公司（Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei），其历史可追溯至英国人约翰·怀特黑德（John Whitehead）。1875年，他在阜姆（当时属于奥匈帝国，现位于克罗地亚）研制出世界上第一枚有效的自推进鱼雷。1995年，该公司并入意大利芬梅卡尼卡集团（Finmeccanica），该集团后更名为莱昂纳多集团（Leonardo）。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。