Defense, Iveco’s armored armored in Leonardo: the non -binding offer (and the negotiations between Elkann and the government)

For Iveco Defense Vehicles « we presented a non -binding offer together with Rheinmetall », The CEO of Leonardo, Roberto Cingolani, explained Thursday 8 May, during the conference call to present the results of the first quarter 2025. « We intend to make exclusively a non -financial industrial investment, » said the top manager. « We are not willing to spend more than the right price to make this possible acquisition, » he added.

The non -binding offer to the study

On the other hand, it has become a strategic question in a short time. Iveco Defgence, owned by the Elkann-Agnelli-Nasi family through Holding Exor, produces armored means for defense. It has long since been the subject of evaluation by analysts because Exor wants to sell it in full or slice it to pieces.

The Golden Power tool

On it is the Golden Power, that is, the instrument in charge of the government that prevents you from selling precious pieces (and with connotations such as to compromise the sovereignty of the country) without the necessary endorsement of Palazzo Chigi. For this reason, Elkann has been dealing with the government for months, they reconstruct different sources, to better enhance it to the point that Leonardo had also been dismissed a year agothe defense giant controlled by the Ministry of Economy, which could integrate it.

The rearmament of Europe

Over time, the interlocutions have also been the basis of the rapprochement between John Elkann, audited in March in Parliament on the theme of the car and the reorganization at the top of Stellantis (of which Exor is the first partner), and the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. It is clear to both that there must be a convergence of views and interests, especially now that there is a large scale of Italy to plan Within the European architecture system which risks, never as before, to be without the American protective umbrella.

The different assessments

Thus have been circulating for some time several assessments on Iveco Defgence, which evaluate it between 500 million and the billion according to the ambitions of the seller and possible buyers. The evaluation that Leonardo would make it would have been set on the lower part. On the upper part the value that Exor wanted to appear. The final evaluation will probably be in the middle: worth 750 million euros.

The joint venture with Rheinmetall

But the ultimate will of the government, in the lead the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, It would be to convince Leonardo of the goodness of the operation but not to the values ​​that the lambs would like. The group would like to detect Iveco Defense through the newly formed joint venture with the German Rheinmetall to produce tanks and armored tanks for the Italian army, for this whole they presented a non-binding offer. Project in which the company already participates from the supplier, having obtained a share of work around 12-15%.

The other suitors

For the military division there would be at least three to have probed Goldman Sachs, the business bank consultant of Iveco on the dossier. The Franco-German alliance KNDS, the Czech CSG group and the British British Bae Systems. The manufacturer of tanks KNDS would have made a first surveybut at the moment the Franco-German route appears politically and industrially not very practicable (We wrote here).

The English track

The CECA CSG company is already present in Italy, where at the end of 2023 it purchased 80% of the Brescia weapons Perazzispecialized in the production of shooting and hunting rifles. As for Bae Systems, the English group already has two collaborations with Leonardo, being a shareholder not only of the Mbda Missile Consortium but also of the new GCAP alliance for the sixth generation hunting project.