Following the German government's investment in defence company Hensoldt last year, Italian company Leonardo has now acquired another large block of shares from financial investor Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR). The stake held by both anchor shareholders is 25.1 per cent each, giving each a blocking minority. According to its own information, Leonardo is paying around 606 million euros, which corresponds to a price per share of 23 euros. The closing price of the Hensoldt share was 15.58 euros on Friday. Leonardo would thus have paid a premium of just under 50 per cent.
With their investment, the Italians want to establish a strategic presence in the growing German defence market. The two companies have already worked together in the past, for example on the radar for the Eurofighter. The investment is still dependent on the approval of various countries and is expected to be realised in the second half of the year.
The Federal Republic of Germany decided to acquire a stake in Hensoldt in December 2020. According to the Federal Ministry of Defence, around 450 million euros was paid for the 25.1% stake at the time. This corresponded to a share price of 17.07 euros. The deal was executed via the state-owned KfW banking group at the end of March 2021. The reason given for the investment was the importance of the defence company for the Bundeswehr. The company is a leader in the sensitive areas of sensor and encryption technology in particular. In addition to the radar for the Eurofighter, Hensoldt also supplies the TRS-4D for the second batch of K 130 corvettes.
The American investment company KKR bought the former Airbus subsidiary in 2016 and only floated it on the stock exchange in autumn 2020.
Hensoldt employs around 4,000 people out of a total of 5,500 employees in Germany and generated a turnover of 1.2 billion euros in 2020. This year, with a constant EBITDA margin of 18 per cent, the company aims to generate turnover of between 1.4 and 1.6 billion euros.
Text: mb; Photo: Hensoldt
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