The title of jumps this morning Leonardo, also influencing other defense stocks, after Russian drones shot down in Polish and therefore NATO airspace last night, interpreted by some analysts as an escalation of the war in Ukraine. But Leonardo's stock was also supported last night by some rumors reported by Bloomberg according to which i talks with Airbus and Thales for a three-way merger of the space divisions work continues at full speed and a detailed plan could be announced as early as this month.
Il title Leonardo At mid-morning, it was trading at €48,41, up 2,43%, only partially recovering from a series of recent declines: -0,94% in five days. It is outperforming the rest of the index, with the FTSE MIB holding steady at +5%. In the defense sector, Fincantieri is also performing well at €0,30, up 19,03%, and Avio at €0,79, up 36,90%.
Poland calls Russian drone attack an "act of aggression"
The fighters of the Poland they shot down in the night different Russian drones after a dozen aircraft have Polish airspace violatedduring a massive attack on UkraineThe operation required the closure of four Polish airports, including Warsaw Chopin Airport, the country's main hub. The Polish Armed Forces Command denounced what it called a “act of aggression which represented a real threat to the safety of citizens” and “a unprecedented violation of airspace”.
Talks continue between Leonardo, Airbus, and Thales to create a mega space hub.
But to support the company led by Roberto Cingolani these are also the new rumors about the continuation of the talks with Airbus (+ 1,77%) and Thales for creating a European space giant and satellite able to compete better with SpaceX, the dominant society of Elon Musk, reports Bloomberg.
Asked about these talks, Airbus CEO, Guillaume Faury, confirmed yesterday that the project is moving forward, with due diligence underway, stakeholders informed, and antitrust procedures underway. "We're on the right track," Faury said in an interview in Washington, where he was attending a conference. "So we're in the implementation phase. We're still very much engaged in the project."
Leonardo's CEO, Roberto Cingolani, had stated in June that it expected clarity on whether or not the space initiative would launch by the end of July. Although there have been no public announcements, sources familiar with the matter have said that, despite the complexity of the agreement, there is a willingness between the parties to proceed.
A successful European space alliance could be modeled on the missile project MBDA owned by Airbus, of the British Bae Systems Plc and Leonardo. However, the three spacecraft trying to unite are facing a number of problems, meaning a merger would only be the first step to transform them and create an entity capable of effectively competing with the Americans or the Chinese. Airbus's CFO, Thomas Toepfer, said last June that the three parties should each own a minority share of the new entity, whose ownership model is currently being discussed. "The governance details may be different from what we're following at MBDA, but this is the direction we're going," he said. "I don't think anyone wants to be the majority shareholder."
With European countries preparing to invest trillions of euros in defense and try to increase their own independence, the partners now see a window to move forward.
What analysts think
“The creation of a European champion for satellite/space activities would represent an important valuation catalyst for Leonardo as the Space division currently has an insignificant contribution to the numbers and its value is not captured by consensus valuations”, comment the analysts of Intermonte. “Our sum-of-the-backup-parts valuation assumes a value of Leonardo's space business of €2,6 billion,” they add, underlining that “the creation of a European satellite/space company (in which Leonardo would have a share, we assume one-third) would contribute greater value.”
