Armaments
Rheinmetall agreed with Lürssen to buy the marine division
The list of armaments that produce Rheinmetall is long: tank, artillery, ammunition, air defense, military truck. Ships are not on the list. But that will change soon.
Germany’s largest armaments group Rheinmetall is about to take over the marine division of the Bremen shipyard group Lürssen. Rheinmetall said in Düsseldorf in Düsseldorf, said that the essential conditions were agreed and will formally complete the transaction at short notice. If the antitrust authorities agree, the takeover of the Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) could be carried out in early 2026.
Notification of disclosure was agreed at the purchase price. In view of the billions in sales of both companies, a huge sum should flow to the Lürssen owners. According to the information, NVL has around 2100 employees, in 2024 sales were around one billion euros. In addition to the headquarters in Bremen, there are shipyards in Wilhelmshaven (Lower Saxony), Hamburg and Wolgast (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). There are also locations in Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt and Brunei. NVL builds ships for Germany’s marine and the navy of other countries as well as for authorities.
According to its own statements, Rheinmetall has around 40,000 employees at 174 locations. In 2024, sales were 9.8 billion euros.
Weapons smithy sets sail
So far, the Düsseldorf -based company has not manufactured any ships, but above all armaments for the land forces, such as tanks, artillery or air defense. As a supplier, the company is also involved in the production of the US combat jet F35, and the arms smithy also manufactures drones and soon also military satellites. Now the armaments group, which is on a steep growth course in view of the Ukraine war and hurts from one record to the next in terms of sales and order stock, to a certain extent.
The navy already uses ship guns and laser modules from Rheinmetall, in the future it will also be ships – provided the deal will take place as expected. “In the future we will be a relevant player in the country, water, in air and in space,” said Rheinmetall boss Armin Papperger. “Rheinmetall is thus developing into a cross-domain system house.”
In addition, the consolidation of the German defense industry is driven forward. “In connection with the Rheinmetall competencies, we create a vital German strength center for state -of -the -art over -watered ships – a powerhouse,” said Papperger. In the maritime area, too, military enforcement capability is increasingly important.
At Lürssen there is a company that builds yachts. This company has around 2,000 employees. The head of the investment company, Friedrich Lürßen, said: “We are pleased to have found a trusting and strong partner with Rheinmetall, which NVL and its employees can secure a successful future.” One wanted to pave the way for the politically desired consolidation in the German defense industry for a long time. This consolidation is necessary and sensible against the background of the tightened threat situation. “This is the only way to ensure that our country is able to defend a quick ability to defend.”
dpa
Source: Stern
