Thales in the spotlight in Paris as agreement reached on the acquisition of Exail
The defence technology giant has signed a binding agreement to acquire the 35.51 per cent stake held by the Gorgé family in Exail, at a price of 134 euros per share
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Exail is rising on the Paris Stock Exchange, buoyed by the agreement for its acquisition by Thales. Shares in the company, which specialises in robotics (maritime drones) and navigation systems, rose by more than three points, bringing its year-to-date gain to around 54 per cent, whilst Thales rose by around two points. The defence technology giant has announced that it has signed a binding agreement to acquire the 35.51 per cent stake held by the Gorgé family in Exail, at a price of 134 euros per share.
Following the completion of this acquisition, Thales plans to acquire the remaining shares in Exail Technologies via a mandatory public takeover bid at the same price. The price of 134 euros – as stated in a press release – represents a premium of 44 per cent compared with Exail’s share price on 25 June, prior to rumours of ‘third-party’ interest in Exail, and implies a total enterprise value of 3.9 billion euros. The offer price also exceeds the €128.5 per share proposed by Safran, which had initially, but unsuccessfully, courted Exail’s shareholders.
Thales anticipates “significant value creation for its shareholders from the acquisition”, with a positive impact on revenue growth and adjusted EBIT margin. The company also expects that, once fully realised, revenue and cost synergies will contribute over €90 million to adjusted operating profit by 2032. The completion of the acquisition is expected to have a positive impact on adjusted earnings per share from the first year onwards. The acquisition of the 35.51 per cent stake is expected to be finalised in the third quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval. It is anticipated that the mandatory public takeover bid will follow and be completed by early 2028.
With this acquisition, Thales “aims to strengthen its presence in the submarine warfare market and expand its capabilities in inertial navigation systems through Exail’s additional and complementary expertise”. In 2025, Exail recorded a turnover of 479 million euros, and for 2026, “double-digit growth” is forecast, Thales states. The two companies announced at a press conference that they expect the potential market for submarine warfare to grow almost tenfold, reaching over €700 billion by 2030, compared with €85 billion in 2025.
"The market we are targeting is not just that of mine warfare, but more generally that of underwater robotic operations," said Patrice Caine, CEO of Thales, during the conference. TP ICAP Midcap believes that Thales is the only “natural potential buyer for Exail”, as the industrial rationale for an acquisition by Thales was much clearer than that for one by Safran. Analysts believe that the French government, which holds a 26 per cent stake in Thales, must have encouraged the deal and do not foresee any competition concerns.
