©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Flags of German defense supplier Hensoldt AG are pictured at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange during Hensoldt’s initial public offering (IPO) in Frankfurt, Germany, September 25, 2020. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo
ROME/MUNICH (Reuters) – Leonardo and Germany’s Hensoldt are discussing a possible joint venture, the chief executive of the Italian defense group said on Thursday, adding that he hoped to have “news” in the coming months.
Leonardo is a shareholder in the German military sensor manufacturer, together with the German government which holds a 25% stake. However, it did not take part in the December capital increase that reduced its previous 25% stake in Hensoldt.
“We are now restarting the analysis of a joint venture. We are discussing with the new management (of Hensoldt) what we can do together, the table is open,” Roberto Cingolani said in a post-results call.
Cingolani added that he met Hensoldt’s number one a few weeks ago and that he hoped to have “news in the coming months”.
Last year, Hensoldt’s outgoing CEO, Thomas Mueller, raised the possibility of his company taking over Leonardo’s defense electronics division, but Leonardo’s then boss, Alessandro Profumo, dismissed the comments as “misleading”.
A Hensoldt spokesman said Friday that future CEO Oliver Doerre met Cingolani in Rome and that there is a list of possible cooperation projects between the two.
“However there are no concrete plans for a joint venture,” the spokesperson said.
Leonardo’s decision not to participate in Hensoldt’s capital increase has fueled speculation about a lack of interest in collaboration between the two groups.
Cingolani said that Leonardo had never opposed the recapitalization and that the German government appreciated the Italian group’s transparent position.
(This story has been refiled to correct the date)