The Italian armaments group Leonardo and its German partner Rheinmetall are apparently in danger of losing out in the bidding race for Iveco's armaments division.
The consortium led by the Italians and the German DAX company submitted the lowest bid in the first round of bidding, the Bloomberg news agency reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. The possible sale price is likely to have swelled to between 1.5 and 2 billion euros due to the high demand for defense investments, the sources added.
Competitors of the Italian-German alliance are therefore the Czechoslovak Group and the French-German tank manufacturer KNDS. Leonardo, Rheinmetall and Czechoslovak Group declined to comment on the information to Bloomberg.
In February, Iveco announced a possible separation from the armaments business. It had already become apparent in March that Leonardo and Rheinmetall were among the interested parties. The two partners each hold 50 percent of the shares in their joint venture based in Rome. The foundation was announced last October. It is to manufacture infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks as well as special vehicles for bridge-laying.
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ROME/TURIN (dpa-AFX)
Rheinmetall JV must probably increase its offer for Iveco Defense
Armaments boom has driven the price of the deal up to €2 billion
Iveco has asked the three interested parties for new offers
The bidding race for Iveco's armaments division is coming to a head - and the consortium consisting of the Italian group Leonardo and the German armaments specialist Rheinmetall, of all companies, appears to be falling behind. According to information from Bloomberg, which cites people familiar with the matter, the German-Italian alliance is said to have submitted the lowest bid in the first round. The competition: the Czechoslovak Group and the Franco-German joint venture KNDS. A final bid has not yet been accepted.
In view of the high demand for military equipment, the sale price is now estimated at between 1.5 and 2 billion euros. Leonardo, Rheinmetall and the Czechoslovak Group did not comment when asked by Bloomberg.
