ROME – Italian shipyard Fincantieri is in talks with Italy's Leonardo to buy torpedo units for 200-300 million euros ($218-326 million), people familiar with the negotiations said. told Defense News.
Fincantieri's move reflects the state-run shipyard's aim to strengthen its defense business, which currently accounts for 40% of its total revenue. The remainder comes from offshore and cruise ship work.
For more than a decade, Leonardo has been looking for a buyer or partner for its torpedo fleet, known as WASS. The company mainly focuses on aircraft, helicopters and high-tech electronics.
A spokesperson for Fincantieri declined to comment on the matter.
WASS stands for Whitehead Alenia Sistemi Subacquei and its origins can be traced back to Englishman John Whitehead. Whitehead developed the world's first effective self-propelled torpedo at Fiume in 1875. Fiume was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is now located in Croatia.
In 1995, WASS became part of the Italian group Finmeccanica, which was later renamed Leonardo.
Fincantieri CEO Pieroberto Forgero told Defense News in December that he was keen to strengthen the company's undersea defense business. The company predicts that this sector will be worth €94 billion between 2024 and 2030.
“We will be the integrator that decides whether to make or buy the system,” Forgero said at the time, adding that Fincantieri would also leverage oil and gas technology for its undersea defense needs.
As part of that ambition, Fincantieri is partnering with a new subsea center in La Spezia, Italy, bringing together industry, the Italian Navy and academia on a program.
Mr. Fincantieri last year signed a contract with Mr. Leonardo to work on drones to protect undersea cables and pipelines. And in December, Fincantieri acquired Remazel, an Italian company that manages the oil and gas sector's subsea operations.
The company also signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate with Italian startup W-Sense, which uses Norwegian technology to develop underwater communications based on acoustic and optical signals.
It also signed an agreement to cooperate with Italy's CABI Cattaneo, which supplies underwater vehicles to the Italian Navy's special forces. Last year, the Navy ordered a third U212 NFS submarine from Fincantieri.
On Thursday, Fincantieri announced its 2023 financial results, showing that last year's order book reached 6.6 billion euros, up from 5.3 billion euros the previous year, and sales rose 2.8% to 7.65 billion euros, with this year's sales reaching 8 billion euros. It was shown that it is expected to reach the euro.
The company reported a loss of 53 million euros, compared to a loss of 324 million euros in 2022.
According to Defense News' Top 100 list, Fincantieri is the 48th largest company in the world based on defense revenue.
Tom Kington is Defense News' Italy correspondent.
