The news of the possible direct peace interviews between Ukraine and Russia in Türkiye brought the defense sector to collapse on the stock exchange. Leonardothe main Italian company in the sector, publicly owned, has lost about 5% of its value, even if it remains one of the best titles in Piazza Affari of the last year.
At the same time, the Italian company would be interested in the purchase of Iveco Defensethe department of the manufacturer of heavy vehicles dedicated precisely to the creation of military vehicles. Exor, owner of Iveco, has been thinking for some time to scroll it, to take advantage of European investments in the defense sector.
Leonardo collapses on the stock exchange, what’s going on
Start of the week difficult for Leonardo on the Stock Exchange. On the morning of Monday 12 May, the title of the most important Italian company in the defense sector came to lose over 5% of its value. A burst of sales has affected Leonardo, who in the last year has however doubled its equity value, touching the 50 euros per share.
The reason for this collapse, as mentioned, is the result of the visit of the leaders of the coalition of the willing to Kiev. After pressing the 30 -day fire on Russia for a ceased, Ukraine obtained an opening from Putin, who said he was available for a face -to -face interview with the Ukrainian representatives in Türkiye.
It would be the first direct meeting to achieve a peace between the two countries, after the mediation attempts, in fact failed, of the USA in recent months. Zelensky accepted the proposal, in a move that many observers see how the reading of the Moscow bluff. Despite this, the securities of the defense sector have lost land, with the investors frightened by a possible EU rethinking on military investments.
The idea of the purchase of Iveco Defense
However, Leonardo does not seem to be frightened by this scenario. In fact, on May 8, the Company announced that it had submitted a non -binding offer from 1.5 billion euros For Iveco Defence together with the German Rheinmetall, with whom Leonardo started a joint venture for the production of military vehicles of the Italian army.
However, Iveco Defgence has also attracted other important companies in the defense sector. The Franco-German alliance KNDS, the Czech CSG group and the British giant Bae system above all. In any case, however, the last word will be up to the government. Iveco Defense is in fact a crucial company for national security and the Golden Power can be exercised on its possible transfer.
Exor’s plan for Iveco
Iveco, the entire company, is owned by Exorthe holding of the Agnelli-Elkann family. However, it is not part of Stellantis, the Franco-Italian group born from the merger of FCA and PSA. The intention of the owners would be to sell the defense section, Iveco Defgence Vehicles (Idv), to take advantage of the favorable climate generated by the European rearmament.
Despite the prospects of growth and investment, however, Elkann would prefer to make cash. Stellantis, Exor’s most important company, is in difficulty, like the whole car sector. Selling IDV in this context would allow the holding to be able to draw on unexpected funds, to start more profitable investments.
