The government uses Golden Power and blocks the deal between Tekne and Nuburu

When everything seemed to be done, the government's no came: a decree to exercise golden power on the sale of 70% of Tekne's shares to the Americans of Nuburu. The technological jewel of Ortona, known for its advanced solutions in the field of electronic warfare and cybersecurity, capable of competing with the big players in the sector, has grown very quickly in terms of orders (reaching a turnover of 54 million euro in 2023), but not in terms of internal organisation: a fracture that has weighed on liquidity, with heavy consequences on the workers, who were laid off for six months between last year and this year. Changes had to be made: first the transformation from a limited company to a joint-stock company, then the full settlement of workers' arrears, thanks to the inflow of new liquidity from the balance of orders that had been successfully completed for some time, and finally the search for a partner capable of giving continuity to production. And to obtain the Italian government's green light for Nuburu's entry, Tekne had presented a very detailed relaunch plan, which envisaged precisely the remodelling of the organisational and production set-up, in order to meet the orders guaranteed for the next 10 years (EUR 67.4 million from the Ministry of Defence alone, ed.) also with a plan for new hires, and to allow the new majority partner, a leader in high-power laser technology, to expand into the defence sector as well. The executive said no. The Ortona company, with 190 employees, half of them engineers, working on increasingly sophisticated technologies, such as the systems used by Ukraine to intercept and shoot down Russian drones, is too strategic for Italy. The government vetoed the entry of the American group 90 days after the request for validation of the new structure and only two days after the closed-door meeting between the premier and the top management of the main Italian defence and security companies.

From Colorado, they do not intend to back down and, in a note, they have outlined a new proposal: immediately a minority investment, then the creation in the United States, in the fourth quarter of this year, of a joint venture in which the Abruzzese company will enter at 20%; finally, by December, total control of Tekne. 'The acquisition will go ahead, in full compliance with the golden power guidelines,' clarifies Alessandro Zamboni, executive chairman of Nuburu. 'There is continuous and productive collaboration with the Italian authorities. And in order not to interrupt the dialogue with the executive came a symbolic act: the resignation from the chairmanship of the board of Tekne of Giorgio Ricchebuono, former deputy general manager of Ubi Banca, indicated precisely by the American partner. In the Ortona headquarters they have no doubts about the continuity of the company, they are waiting for signals from the government and perhaps a solution in light of what emerged last Tuesday at Palazzo Chigi in the summit with the big players in the sector. 'The government has blocked this solution, which represented above all a rescue plan,' says Andrea De Lutis, secretary of Fiom Chieti-Pescara, 'and only the government can let us know what the continuation will be. We need to know as soon as possible'. Among the hypotheses is nationalisation, others are in the hands of Tekne's CEO, Ambrogio D'Arrezzo, at whose door several entrepreneurs had knocked in recent months, not only from Abruzzo and not only from the defence and security sectors.