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01 Jul 25. Italy’s Leonardo takes a stake in Finland’s SSH as European defence M&A inches forward.
- Summary
- Leonardo to become top SSH shareholder with 24.55% stake
- SSH to issue 20m euros of shares to Leonardo
- Part of Leonardo’s drive to boost cybersecurity business
Italy’s Leonardo (LDOF.MI) will buy a 24.55% stake in Finland’s SSH (SSH1V.HE) to expand its cybersecurity business, the companies said on Tuesday, in a sign of some progress in European defence consolidation and cooperation. The deal will see the Italian aerospace and defence group become SSH’s biggest shareholder, highlighting Leonardo’s belief that cybersecurity has become essential to the interconnected multi-domain warfare systems it develops. (Source: Reuters)
02 Jul 25. UK Defence Dividend. Research by Oxford Economics has revealed that the UK Government’s ambition to deliver a ‘defence dividend’ is already taking effect, with the nation’s biggest defence company, BAE Systems, contributing £13.7bn to national GDP in 2024, accounting for one in every £200 of the country’s economic output. The ‘BAE Systems Contribution’* report comes soon after the UK’s Strategic Defence Review was announced at BAE Systems’ site in Glasgow, where the Prime Minister outlined a plan to create: “A defence dividend – that will be felt in the pockets of working people and the prosperity of the country, securing growth for generations to come.”
Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive at BAE Systems, said: “We work at pace, every day to deliver the advanced, technology-led capabilities the UK’s armed forces need to defend our freedom and strengthen national security, but this report shows that our industry delivers so much more than that. We fuel economic growth, creating jobs and prosperity, with the impact extending far beyond BAE Systems to the thousands of companies we work with right across the UK, helping to support growth and a robust, resilient and innovative UK defence industrial base.”
Through its Industrial Strategy, the UK Government has made it clear that defence is central to both national security and economic growth, aspiring to harness innovation and industrial power to make defence a new engine for growth. This encompasses a broad range of positive economic outcomes, including jobs, exports and lasting productivity gains, and today’s report outlines some of the ways BAE Systems is already delivering by:
- supporting over 159,000 full-time equivalent jobs, including almost 50,000 in its UK business;
- driving economic activity through a UK-wide supply chain, with 5,800 UK suppliers and £5.8bn spent, supporting jobs across the country; and
- creating opportunities where they are needed most, with over 40% of its UK workforce living in the most deprived fifth of local authority areas, and £1.3 bn spent with businesses in those areas.
The report also outlines how BAE Systems is intensifying its commitment to skills development. In 2024, the Company invested £230m in education and training, including more than £150m for 4,650 apprentices and almost £50 m for graduate training. This significant investment directly supports the UK Government’s vision to create new jobs, create skills and opportunity and drive huge growth in industrial capacity.
30 Jun 25. MS International shares fall 10% as non-core asset sale fails.
Defence and security are the group’s focus
- Dividend up 18 per cent
- Order delays
MS International (MSI) shares fell 10 per cent after the Aim-traded engineering group said it could not find a good enough price for the potential sale of three of its four divisions. The group’s primary focus is now on defence and security (70 per cent of revenue and 95 per cent of operating profit in the latest year) and it explored the sale of its other units – forgings, petrol station superstructures and corporate branding – in the spring. Management said that “considerable interest was expressed by financial buyers but not at the levels that represented an attractive proposition for MSI shareholders”. While the wider defence environment (Nato members have agreed to massively boost military and security spending to 5 per cent of GDP) highlights why management wants to hive off non-defence units, underlying performance also made this clear. The defence performance drove pre-tax profit to a new record, and operating profit up by more than a fifth to £18.7m, helped by naval weapon exports to the US and Germany. However, the year-end group order book was slightly lower on equipment order delays due to defence reviews and changing governments in key markets. A glance at the other units also highlights why management is seeking disposals. Revenue was down at each business, operating profit fell at forgings and petrol station superstructures, and corporate branding made another loss. The outlook has improved for some of these markets, though, and corporate branding is set to return to profit this year. MS International trades on an undemanding 14 times forward earnings. Yet, as the failed disposals show, there are strategic and operational questions to be worked out. Hold.
(Source: Investors Chronicle)
30 Jun 25. Chemring announced the conditional acquisition of Landguard Nexus Limited (“Landguard”) and its wholly owned subsidiaries Landguard Systems Inc and Landguard Systems Limited (collectively the “Landguard Group”) (the “Acquisition”). The Acquisition creates further opportunities for Chemring to enhance the growth of its Roke business.
Acquisition overview
Landguard, based in Fareham, Hampshire, designs, manufactures, and supports, software defined radio (“SDR”) systems and associated security products that enable defence, government, and law enforcement customers to protect crucial operational assets. These specialist systems include high performance tracking products operating across satellite communications, cellular networks and other radio frequency technologies, as well as SDR transceivers which provide flexible and reprogrammable radio capabilities incorporating the latest interoperability standards. Landguard’s operational agility, and unique technologies, enables it to satisfy customer requirements across the complete product lifecycle of design, manufacturing, and after-sales operational support. The acquisition brings thirty specialist engineers to Roke in addition to a suite of market leading products, unique intellectual property and a range of complementary customer relationships. The current owner-managers of Landguard are expected to remain with Chemring following completion of the Acquisition. The consideration of up to £20m will be satisfied by a £14m cash payment on completion, funded from Chemring’s existing bank facilities, and cash earnouts totalling up to £6m subject to certain performance targets. In the year ended 31 January 2025, Landguard’s turnover was c.£7m. The acquisition is expected to be marginally earnings enhancing in the year ending 31 October 2026. (Source: Investors Chronicle)
Completion of the transaction is subject to approval under the UK National Investment and Security Act.
Opportunity and rationale
The Acquisition creates further opportunities for Chemring to enhance and accelerate growth of its Roke business whilst driving strong operational synergies. The combination of Roke’s Cyber and Electromagnetic Activities (“CEMA”) pedigree and Landguard’s modular, high-performance technologies creates a unique UK Sovereign portfolio of Defence, National Security and Law Enforcement products and capabilities that can be immediately shared with Roke’s existing Defence and National Security customers and also used to enhance its significant (>£300 m) international sales pipeline.
Michael Ord, Chief Executive of Chemring, commented: “The acquisition of Landguard further enhances Roke’s significant operational capabilities and is further evidence of Chemring delivering its strategy of delivering growth through a combination of organic investment and bolt-on acquisitions in high-priority defence and national security markets.”
27 Jun 25. NUBURU, Inc. (NYSE American: BURU), a global leader in high-power blue laser technology, today announced significant progress in its strategic transformation, including developments within its planned Defense & Security Hub and key acquisitions. NUBURU, Inc. reports that the regulatory approval process for the acquisition of Tekne SpA (“Tekne”) currently under review through Italy’s Golden Power process is progressing positively and in line with expectations. NUBURU’s team is working closely with the relevant Italian authorities, and current indications suggest a favorable outcome. Meanwhile, Tekne remains fully focused on its delivery plan, supporting, among its portfolio of clients, the Italian Ministry of Defense with pivotal technological solutions, with reference to its state-of-the-art “Tactical Bubble” systems, which are currently in full deployment.
“The Tactical Bubble is a next-generation battlefield system developed by Tekne and recognized by the Italian Armed Forces. It enables real-time communication, decision-making, and data sharing among military units, dramatically improving situational awareness and personnel safety in hostile environments,” said Alessandro Zamboni, Executive Chairman of NUBURU. “This confirms that the targeted acquisition of Tekne will be a cornerstone of NUBURU’s broader Defense & Security Hub strategy, which also includes the acquisition of a start-up Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform designed to enhance operational resilience across critical infrastructure and defense networks,” continued Mr. Zamboni.
Designed to counter modern threats including hostile drones, cyber attacks, and electromagnetic warfare, the Tactical Bubble features integrated monitoring, identification, and countermeasure capabilities. It also establishes a robust, secure command-and-control network that supports fast, reliable mission execution in complex combat scenarios.
Tekne’s €50m Defense Project Under Full Deployment:
Tekne continues to execute on its multi-phase contract with the Italian Ministry of Defense, focused on delivering its advanced “Tactical Bubble” systems, which are now fully operational. This project – expected to generate over €50 m in revenue – was recently showcased during major military exercises, including “Stella Alpina” and “Scudo 25,” and is central to Italy’s defense modernization efforts.
Strengthening Position in Defense-Tech and Operational Resilience:
NUBURU views the successful delivery of the Tactical Bubble system as a major validation of its strategy to expand into defense-tech, homeland security, and operational resilience sectors. These high-growth verticals are key to the group’s broader transformation plan, which can also leverage the Company’s leadership in high-performance laser applications into adjacent markets with long-term value potential. In parallel, NUBURU is moving forward with the completion of the due diligence and US GAAP/IFRS audit processes related to Tekne and the SaaS startup transaction. Both deals remain subject to customary regulatory review and stockholders approval.
Commitment to Growth, Innovation, and Shareholder Value:
NUBURU continues to invest in research and development to study the application of exponential technologies, like Artificial Intelligence (Agentic AI), and the business’ synergies with the fintech solutions, by leveraging the recent strategic investment in the revolutionary inventory monetization platform powered by Supply@ME Capital Plc. Under the direction of Executive Chairman Alessandro Zamboni, the Company is committed to executing its long-term transformation strategy, driving sustained growth through strategic partnerships, product innovation, and acquisition-led expansion.
About NUBURU
Founded in 2015, NUBURU, Inc. develops and manufactures industrial blue laser technology that transforms the speed and quality of laser-based manufacturing. Under a renewed strategic vision led by Executive Chairman Alessandro Zamboni, the Company is expanding into complementary sectors including defense-tech, security, and critical infrastructure resilience. NUBURU is leveraging a combination of internal innovation and strategic acquisitions to build out its Defense & Security Hub, targeting long-term, sustainable growth across high-value government and enterprise markets. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
30 Jun 25. Patria divests majority stake in Estonian subsidiary Milworks OU. Patria has signed an agreement to sell its 60% stake in Milworks OU, an Estonian provider of lifecycle management services, to Mootor Group. The divestment is in line with Patria’s strategy to focus its MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) operations in the Baltic region to its growing Valmiera site in Latvia. Following the transaction, Mootor Group, currently a minority owner with a 40% stake, will become the sole owner of Milworks. The parties have agreed not to disclose the transaction price.
“Patria remains committed to serving the Estonian and more widely the entire Baltic defence market including Lithuania, leveraging our enlarged operations in Latvia. In parallel, Milworks is well positioned for further development under Mootor Group’s full ownership,” says Pekka Ruutu, Executive Vice President, Sustainment Solutions at Patria.
Milworks offers MRO services of armoured and soft skin vehicles as well as other military equipment. Milworks employs in total 15 people in Tapa and Voru. The transaction is expected to be completed on 31 July, 2025.
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SPX CommTech, part of SPX Technologies Inc, innovates specialised technologies within the Radio Frequency (RF) spectrum to ensure a smarter, more secure future for all. Formed by TCI and ECS, SPX CommTech’s Battlespace portfolio enables defence and security teams to detect, defeat and exploit RF signals to enhance communications intelligence (COMINT) and counter unmanned aerial systems (Counter-UAS). Additionally, its Tactical Data Link portfolio allows intelligence gathering agencies, special forces, emergency response, and security teams to securely and reliably transfer video and data between enabled-aircraft and ground teams over long distances for airborne Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR). For more information visit www.tcibr.com and www.enterprisecontrol.co.uk
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