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Dusseldorf (APA / Reuters) – The Rheinmetall armaments company is warming up Krauss-Maffei-Wegmann's Leopard 2 tank manufacturer against the merger fever in the European industry. Rheinmetall confirmed on Monday that it had discussions on a possible acquisition of a stake in KNDS and therefore indirectly on KNDS subsidiary Krauss-Maffei Wegmann.
KNDS is a joint holding company of the KMW-based family business and the French public company Nexter. Forms of cooperation with KNDS and KMW are also possible, explained Rheinmetall. The exit is open. The Düsseldorf have repeatedly expressed interest in the competitors, with whom they have developed the armored infantry "Puma".
KMW did not want to comment on the attack. At times, Rheinmetall's shares have gained more than six percent.
According to insiders, the two German companies had not been able to agree on who should take the lead in previous attempts. KMW then turned to French. The former Federal Minister for the Economy, Sigmar Gabriel, was in favor of a merger of the German arms factories. The German arms industry also includes Thyssenkrupp, a company already engaged by Rheinmetall.
ThyssenKrupp, for its part, is well placed in this area, according to Oliver Burkhard, member of the Executive Board, but would not fundamentally refuse the discussions on consolidation. "By transforming Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems into a global system company through the acquisition of Atlas Elektronik, we are investing in our sites and are therefore heavily engaged in international competition," explained the director. "The subject of consolidation with a French partner mentioned in the media does not concern us."
Apparently, Burkhard was referring to speculation that the French shipyard Naval Group could again target the marine division of ThyssenKrupp, known for its submarines. "However, we have always said that we are open to discussing the European consolidation of shipbuilding if it is economically viable and politically desirable," Burkhard said. Thyssenkrupp also said that it is not currently engaged in talks on the consolidation of the shipbuilding industry.
Rheinmetall was reluctant at random at KMW. "The board of directors of Rheinmetall AG is currently examining whether the transaction is legally feasible and economically viable and depends on a large number of political, economic and regulatory factors." The Federal Ministry of the Economy had originally no comment on this.
The German defense industry is rather fragmented compared to large American companies such as Lockheed Martin. Thyssenkrupp, which employs nearly 6,000 people, focuses primarily on the construction of submarines, corvettes and frigates. The Rheinmetall Group has recently achieved an annual turnover of around six billion euros and employs around 24,000 people. About half of them contributed to the division of arms with about 11,000 employees. KMW employs over 4,000 people at sites in Germany, the United Kingdom, Turkey and the United States, among others.
~ ISIN DE0007030009 WEB http://www.rheinmetall.de ~ APA505 2018-11-26 / 19: 09
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