Corre Leonardo, joint venture signing with Rheinmetall coming soon

Leonardo - Finmeccanica gains ground at Piazza Affari ahead of the signing of the joint venture with Germany's Rheinmetall . According to rumours published over the weekend, the closing of the joint land armaments jv, which will be based in Italy, will be formalised tomorrow in Rome by CEOs Roberto Cingolani and Armin Papperger. The Sole 24 Ore recalls that 'the mainstay of the agreement in the first instance is the future supplies to the Italian Army of 280 tanks (half combat, the other half support vehicles) and over a thousand light infantry tracked vehicles, known as Aics or Aifvs'. Two maxi orders 'worth an estimated 23.2 billion over 10-15 years'.

"The news is expected and in line with the preliminary agreement" "signed on 3 July", Intermonte analysts comment. "We confirm the outperform rating on the stock," they add from Equita, pointing out that the decision "reflects the attractive valuation and the view that spending on global security (defence electronics, cyber, space, critical infrastructure protection) will remain high in the coming years".