The Italian shipbuilding group announced the acquisition of majority stakes in NEXTGEOSOLUTIONS, WSENSE, GRAALTECH, and DEFCOMM, companies operating in the Underwater (UW) sector, with an investment of approximately €600 million.
The deal follows the acquisitions of WASS and REMAZEL, completed in 2025 and 2024 respectively, and was made possible by capital raised through an Accelerated Bookbuilding (ABB) transaction successfully concluded last February. With these acquisitions, Fincantieri expands its presence and expertise in specialized services for marine survey and geoscience, offshore construction support, underwater and surface drones, and wireless communication systems for the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT).
The move creates the first vertically integrated operator in the Underwater sector, comprising a total of 8 companies capable of offering integrated end-to-end solutions across the entire value chain synergistically. These companies can operate across all production phases, from hardware to software and telecommunications, from underwater vehicle supply to service delivery. In addition, they can benefit from cross-selling, joint product development, and economies of scale and scope, elements that give effect to the Underwater segment strategy outlined in the 2026-2030 Industrial Plan. Fincantieri is currently one of the leading global operators in the UW sector, employing 1,500 qualified professionals in Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates.
On a pro-forma basis, treating the newly acquired companies as already part of Fincantieri, the Group's UW segment reaches revenues of €1.1 billion for 2026, with EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) of €220 million. These figures allow the Group to achieve, 4 years ahead of schedule, the 2030 targets outlined in the 2026-2030 Industrial Plan presented last February. In 2025, Fincantieri's UW sector posted revenues of €667 million, accounting for 6.7% of the Group's total revenue portfolio, a share set to grow further.
NEXTGEOSOLUTIONS operates in marine survey and geoscience services and offshore construction support, and is one of the few European players with full-lifecycle subsea capability. The company is listed on the Euronext Growth Milan segment and reported revenue of €267 million for 2025. WSENSE, GRAALTECH, and DEFCOMM are Italian high-tech scale-ups specialized, respectively, in underwater communications and IoUT, autonomous underwater drones, and autonomous surface drones. Fincantieri already collaborates with WSENSE, with which it signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2023, and with GRAALTECH on the development of the DEEP demonstrator for subsea infrastructure protection, which also incorporates technologies developed by the 2 companies. The acquisition agreements provide for key managers and shareholders to remain in place through reinvestment of significant equity stakes in the individual companies, ensuring industrial continuity and retention of expertise.
Privacy Policy
Powered by © Mobilbyte s.a.s. Information Technology