MUNICH (Reuters) – Germany’s Hensoldt is considering an acquisition of the defence electronics segment of Italy’s Leonardo as part of efforts for European consolidation, CEO Thomas Mueller said in comments released on Thursday.
“That would be a possible way forward” and would be conceivable in the short term, Mueller said at an event in Munich late Wednesday.
“In the long term, we have to be on a par with the Americans.”
Mueller said taking over parts of France’s Thales, as well as domestic transactions with the likes of Rheinmetall, were also among its options to achieve consolidation.
The producer of radar and high precision optics used in aircrafts, ships and tanks has expanded production capacity since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and expects to receive a number of orders from the German government in the coming months.
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner, Writing by Friederike Heine; editing by Matthias Williams)
