MADRID (Reuters) -Spanish defence company Indra sent a non-binding offer for Italian group Iveco’s defence business, newspaper El Economista reported on Monday, citing unidentified market sources.
Iveco’s unit, which assembles armoured military vehicles, is worth about 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion), El Economista reported.
Indra and Iveco did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Indra’s bid follows another by Italian aerospace and defence firm Leonardo and Germany’s Rheinmetall for Iveco’s defence unit announced last week by Leonardo’s Chief Executive Roberto Cingolani.
Indra, which is 28% owned by Spanish state-owned fund SEPI, is set to benefit from the government’s plan to increase defence spending by more than 10 billion euros this year.
($1 = 0.8915 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro and Mireia Merino, Editing by Louise Heavens)
