Agency Report –
Berlin – Germany’s largest defence company Rheinmetall has agreed to acquire Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL), the military division of Bremen-based shipyard Lürssen, it said on Sunday.
The deal, reportedly worth billions of dollars, is expected to close in early 2026, pending regulatory approval. Financial terms were not initially disclosed.
The acquisition will allow Rheinmetall, which currently supplies naval guns and laser modules but does not build ships, to expand its operations into naval shipbuilding.
The company’s stock has surged roughly 20-fold since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as Rheinmetall has become a key weapons supplier to Kiev, partly funded by the German government.
NVL, a privately owned shipyard group with four shipyards in northern Germany, specializes in the design and construction of naval and government vessels for the German Navy and clients worldwide. It owns additional sites located in Bulgaria, Croatia, Egypt and Brunei.
It employs around 2,100 people and reported revenues of roughly €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in 2024. Rheinmetall employs some 40,000 people across 174 sites, generating €9.8 billion in revenue last year.
