Thales Acquires Exail for $4.5 Billion as Europe's Underwater Drone Market Consolidates

PARIS / ROME — French defense technology giant Thales has announced an agreement to acquire a 35.5% stake in French underwater drone manufacturer Exail Technologies from the Gorgé family, and plans to launch a public tender offer for the remaining shares at an enterprise valuation of €3.9 billion (approximately $4.5 billion), successfully fending off a competing bid from Safran.

Thales Offers €134 Per Share — a 44% Premium

Thales said on Monday it would offer €134 per share for the remaining shares of Exail. The offer represents a 44% premium over Exail's share price on June 25 — the day before Safran publicly announced it had entered exclusive talks with the Gorgé family at €128.50 per share.

Safran confirmed on Friday that it had terminated exclusive negotiations with Exail over a potential acquisition, citing failure to reach mutually acceptable terms.

Underwater Drone Market on a High-Growth Trajectory

Exail supplies maritime unmanned systems to several European autonomous mine-countermeasure programs, including a French program led by Thales itself. In a briefing, Thales noted that the mine warfare market is forecast to grow at a high single-digit percentage rate through 2030, while the addressable market for unmanned anti-submarine warfare (ASW) is expected to expand eightfold by the end of the decade.

"Through this acquisition, Thales aims to scale up its presence in the underwater warfare market and strengthen its capabilities in inertial navigation systems by integrating Exail's complementary expertise," the company stated.

Exail's Portfolio: Underwater Drones and Inertial Navigation

Exail produces a range of underwater and surface unmanned vehicles as well as inertial navigation systems. Some 76% of its revenue comes from its navigation and maritime robotics division, with the remainder from its advanced technologies segment. The company's autonomous maritime drones are used in underwater mine clearance and seabed mapping, with emerging applications in ASW, intelligence gathering, surveillance, and reconnaissance.

Thales itself is among the world's largest sonar system manufacturers, with its towed sonar systems in service with multiple Western navies.

Transaction Timeline and Financial Impact

Thales's acquisition of the Gorgé family's stake is expected to close in Q3 2026, after which a mandatory public tender offer for all remaining Exail shares and convertible bonds will be launched, with completion anticipated no later than early 2028.

Financially, Thales expects the deal to generate "significant value" for shareholders, with Exail contributing positively to Thales's earnings per share (EPS) from year one, and projected to contribute more than €90 million to Thales's operating profit before 2032. The combined entity is expected to generate an additional €500 million in cumulative revenue over a 10-year period.

According to briefing documents, Exail posted revenue of €479 million in 2025, with an order backlog of €1.1 billion as of end-March. By comparison, Thales reported sales of €22.1 billion last year, with an order backlog of €53.3 billion as of end-December.

Fincantieri Deploys €600 Million to Build Underwater Capabilities

In a parallel move, Italian state-owned shipbuilder Fincantieri announced €600 million in acquisitions spanning four maritime unmanned systems and underwater engineering companies, significantly reinforcing its competitive position in both civilian and defense underwater markets.

Fincantieri said the targets include Next Geosolutions, which provides offshore construction support services, as well as Italian start-ups WSense, Graal Tech, and Defcomm, which specialize in underwater communications and surface and underwater unmanned systems.

"The acquisitions announced today mark a historic transformation for Fincantieri as we build an international flagship in the underwater domain," said CEO Pierroberto Folgiero.

The acquisitions are partly funded by a €500 million capital raise Fincantieri completed in February, and follow recent acquisitions of underwater engineering firm Remazel and torpedo manufacturer WASS.

Following completion, Fincantieri projects its underwater business revenue will reach €1.1 billion in 2025, rising to €1.4 billion by 2028 and €1.8 billion by 2030. The company said it will pursue synergies between civil and military underwater technologies, mirroring its long-standing strategy of integrating naval and cruise ship operations.

Once all transactions are finalized, Fincantieri will employ approximately 1,500 underwater business staff across Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates.

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