Fincantieri in talks to buy Leonardo’s torpedo business, source says

ROME — Italian shipyard Fincantieri is in talks with Italy’s Leonardo to buy the latter’s torpedo unit for €200-€300 million (U.S. $218-326 million), a source with knowledge of the negotiations told Defense News.

The move by Fincantieri reflects the state-controlled yard’s push to beef up its defense business, which currently accounts for 40% of overall revenue; the remainder comes from offshore and cruise ship work.

For more than a decade Leonardo has searched on and off for a buyer or partner for its torpedo unit known as WASS. The company’s primary focus is aircraft, helicopters and high-tech electronics.

A spokesperson for Fincantieri declined to comment for this story.

WASS, which stands for 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, and now in Croatia.

In 1995, WASS became part of the Italian group Finmeccanica, which has since been renamed Leonardo .

Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero told Defense News in December he was keen on ramping up his firm’s undersea defense business, a sector the company predicts will be worth €94 billion between 2024 and 2030.

“We will be an integrator, deciding whether to make or buy systems,” Folgiero said at the time, adding that Fincantieri would also harness oil and gas technology for subsea defense needs.

As part of its ambitions, Fincantieri is a partner at a new subsea center in La Spezia, Italy, bringing together industry, the Italian Navy and academia to work on programs.

Fincantieri also signed a deal with Leonardo last year to work on drones to protect undersea cables and pipelines. And in December, Fincantieri purchased Italian firm Remazel , which manages subsea operations for the oil and gas sector.

The firm also signed a memorandum of understanding to work with W-Sense, an Italian startup using Norwegian technology to develop underwater communications based on acoustic and optical signals.

It also struck a deal to work with C.A.B.I. Cattaneo, an Italian supplier of underwater vehicles to Italy’s naval special forces. Last year, the Navy ordered a third U212 NFS submarine from Fincantieri.

On Thursday, Fincantieri released its results for 2023, which showed orders last year reached €6.6 billion, up from €5.3 billion the year before, while revenues rose 2.8% to €7.65 billion and are expected to reach €8 billion this year.

The firm reported a €53 million loss, against a €324 million loss in 2022.

According to Defense News’ Top 100 list , Fincantieri is the 48th largest company in the world based on defense-related revenue.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——据一位了解谈判情况的消息人士向《防务新闻》透露，意大利造船厂芬坎蒂尼正在与意大利莱昂纳多公司洽谈，拟以 2 亿至 3 亿欧元（2.18 亿至 3.26 亿美元）的价格收购后者的鱼雷部门。

芬坎蒂尼的这一举动反映了这家国有船厂为加强其国防业务而做出的努力，该业务目前占其总收入的 40%；其余收入来自海上作业和邮轮业务。

十多年来，莱昂纳多公司一直在断断续续地为其鱼雷部门WASS寻找买家或合作伙伴。该公司主要业务集中在飞机、直升机和高科技电子产品领域。

芬坎蒂尼集团发言人拒绝就此事置评。

WASS，即 Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei，其起源可追溯到英国人约翰·怀特黑德，他于 1875 年在阜姆（当时是奥匈帝国的一部分，现在位于克罗地亚）研制出了世界上第一枚有效的自推进鱼雷。

1995 年，WASS 成为意大利 Finmeccanica 集团的一部分，该集团后来更名为 Leonardo。

芬坎蒂尼集团首席执行官皮埃罗贝托·福尔杰罗在 12 月份接受《防务新闻》采访时表示，他热衷于扩大公司水下防御业务，该公司预测该行业在 2024 年至 2030 年间的价值将达到 940 亿欧元。

“我们将成为系统集成商，决定是自行制造还是购买系统，”福尔杰罗当时表示，并补充说，芬坎蒂尼集团还将利用石油和天然气技术来满足水下防御需求。

作为其雄心壮志的一部分，芬坎蒂尼集团是意大利拉斯佩齐亚新建海底中心的合作伙伴，该中心汇集了工业界、意大利海军和学术界，共同开展项目。

芬坎蒂尼集团去年还与莱昂纳多公司签署了一项协议，共同研发用于保护海底电缆和管道的无人机。去年12月，芬坎蒂尼集团收购了意大利公司Remazel，该公司为石油和天然气行业管理海底作业。

该公司还与意大利初创公司 W-Sense 签署了一份谅解备忘录，W-Sense 利用挪威技术开发基于声学和光学信号的水下通信技术。

它还与意大利水下航行器供应商CABI Cattaneo达成合作协议，后者为意大利海军特种部队提供水下航行器。去年，意大利海军向芬坎蒂尼集团订购了第三艘U212 NFS潜艇。

周四，芬坎蒂尼集团公布了 2023 年的业绩，数据显示，去年订单额达到 66 亿欧元，高于前一年的 53 亿欧元；收入增长 2.8% 至 76.5 亿欧元，预计今年将达到 80 亿欧元。

该公司报告亏损 5300 万欧元，而 2022 年亏损 3.24 亿欧元。

根据《防务新闻》的百强榜单，芬坎蒂尼集团按国防相关收入计算是全球第 48 大公司。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。