BERLIN (Reuters) -Defence group Rheinmetall wants to take over German shipbuilder Naval Vessels Luerssen, the German daily Bild reported on Wednesday, citing industry sources.
According to Bild, the Luerssen family, who own the shipbuilder, plan to divest its military shipyards in Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven and Wolgast to focus on building megayachts.
Rheinmetall’s supervisory board intends to consider the purchase in the coming weeks, Bild said, while citing a person familiar with the matter as saying any acquisition could still fall through as the Luerssen family would need to approve it.
When asked about the Bild report, Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger told reporters that the company was always interested in expanding its product portfolio, without giving further details.
Papperger said earlier this month that Rheinmetall, which makes tanks and ammunition, was in talks with partners about investing in the naval sector.
NVL did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment.
Rheinmetall is one of the biggest beneficiaries of Europe’s push to upgrade its defence capabilities following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Separately, Dennis Goege, the European head of U.S. defence contractor Lockheed Martin, told WirtschaftsWoche that the company was in discussions to have Rheinmetall manufacture missiles including ATACMS and Hellfire types at its expanding Unterluess site in northern Germany.
The two companies said in April that they would expand their cooperation beyond a memorandum of understanding signed in 2024, with Lockheed providing missile and rocket technology, and Rheinmetall manufacturing and selling missiles in Europe.
Goege said that the final list of missiles had yet to be determined.
Rheinmetall, which this year started making fuselage parts for Lockheed’s F-35 fighter jets, declined to comment on the report.
Also on Wednesday, Papperger signed a contract to build a powder factory in Romania, worth around half a billion euros, following on from Tuesday’s announcement that Rheinmetall planned to produce gunpowder and 155-mm artillery shells in Bulgaria under two joint venture agreements.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Miranda Murray, Matthias Inverardi and Ludwig Burger, editing by Thomas Seythal and Maria Martinez, Kirsten Donovan)
