Shares of Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri rose more than 11% on Monday following the company’s announcement that it has agreed to acquire four Italian businesses in the underwater technology sector for an initial investment of about €600 million.
According to a company statement, Fincantieri will take majority stakes in Next Geosolutions, WSense, Graal Tech and Defcomm. The acquisitions broaden the group’s footprint into several niche areas: marine survey and geoscience services, marine construction support, unmanned underwater and surface drone systems, and wireless communication systems for what the company described as the Internet of Underwater Things - IoUT.
Market reaction to the transaction varied across the involved names. Next Geosolutions shares fell by more than 2% after the deal was announced; Fincantieri agreed to value Next Geosolutions at €16.25 per share, a level marginally below the company’s previous closing price of €16.45.
Fincantieri outlined pro-forma financial expectations for the new underwater unit, forecasting roughly €1.1 billion in revenue and about €220 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization for 2026. Those figures match targets set out in the group’s 2030 business plan and would be achieved four years earlier than planned.
At the group level, the company said the acquisitions are expected to add more than €60 million to consolidated net profit in 2026. Fincantieri also projected that earnings per share could rise about 30% by 2028 and by around 20% by 2030. The deals were reported to increase pro-forma 2026 group EBITDA by 13% and pro-forma net profit by 40%.
Funding for the transactions will come from proceeds of a €500 million capital raise the company completed in February, together with other group resources. Fincantieri stated that the acquisitions will have no effect on its 2026 net debt-to-EBITDA guidance.
Contextual notes
- Targeted capabilities expand Fincantieri’s reach into underwater and adjacent marine technologies, including unmanned systems and underwater communications.
- Pro-forma figures shown by the company indicate the underwater unit would hit 2030 plan metrics by 2026.
- Financing relies in part on a €500 million equity raise completed earlier in the year.