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PARIS — Belgian engineering firm John Cockerill mentioned Monday it has agreed to purchase French army automobile maker Arquus from Volvo Group for an undisclosed quantity, including a variety of wheeled armored carriers and army vans to its choices.
John Cockerill expects protection income of €1 billion (U.S. $1.1 billion) by 2026 from the mix of its protection division with Arquus, it mentioned in a press release, including that the acquisition will enhance the corporate’s footprint within the international land protection market.
The deal would greater than double John Cockerill’s protection enterprise, combining its turrets and firing methods with the provider of 90% of the French military’s wheeled automobiles. Arquus already affords a fire-support model of its VAB Mk3 armored personnel provider with a 90mm turret from John Cockerill.
“The mixed provide of sunshine tank turrets and automobiles from John Cockerill Protection and Arquus will generate vital synergies that can lead to extra progressive and extra aggressive automobiles to equip land forces world wide,” John Cockerill chief government Francois Michel mentioned within the assertion.
Michel mentioned the deliberate acquisition might be “transformative” for the European protection trade within the space of sunshine tanks. The acquisition will enable John Cockerill to supply “one of the best degree of high quality and value competitiveness” for each gentle tank turrets and army automobiles, the corporate mentioned.
Volvo Group mentioned it signed an choice settlement with John Cockerill Protection that offers the corporate the best to promote Arquus after necessary consultations with workers representatives, that are anticipated to be finalized by the tip of March. Closing of the deal can be topic to authorities approvals, the Swedish firm mentioned.
John Cockerill Protection and Arquus goal a workers of two,000 individuals by 2026, with main operational facilities in Belgium, France, India and Saudi Arabia. The mix can be a significant step to industrially supporting the coordinated automobile sourcing applications of the French and Belgian land forces, John Cockerill mentioned.
The Belgian firm in January 2023 merged its French protection enterprise with its Agueris training-simulator unit, a part of a bid to strengthen its dedication to France’s protection industrial and technological base.
John Cockerill reported 2022 gross sales of €1.05 billion, together with a declining contribution from its protection enterprise, which posted income of round €240 million in 2021. Arquus posted 2022 income of €559 million and working revenue of €21.5 million, in line with firm filings.
Volvo Group mentioned it’ll take a cost of 700 million Swedish kronor (U.S. $87 million) for the sale of Arquus towards 2023 fourth-quarter working earnings.
Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Protection Information. He began his profession at Bloomberg Information and has expertise reporting on know-how, commodity markets and politics.
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