Fincantieri Acquires Four Companies to Build World's First Vertically Integrated Underwater Drone Business

Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri has announced agreements to acquire four companies—Next Geosolutions, WSense, Graal Tech, and Defcomm—in a set of strategic transactions that significantly strengthen the group's position in the underwater sector, an area of growing importance for defense and security, energy, and critical infrastructure.

Transaction Highlights

• World's first vertically integrated underwater platform: The group will integrate eight centers of excellence—each a leader in its respective field—to deliver end-to-end solutions spanning hardware, software and telecommunications, underwater platform supply, and services, while accelerating the underwater strategy outlined in the 2026–2030 business plan.
• Continuation of a proven acquisition strategy: The transactions build on the successful integration of WASS (acquired in 2025) and Remazel (acquired in 2024), and are funded in part by proceeds from an accelerated book-build capital increase completed last February.
• Expanded critical technology capabilities: The acquisitions cover marine surveying and geoscience services, offshore construction support, autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and unmanned surface vehicle (USV) technology, and underwater Internet of Things (IoUT) wireless communications systems.
• Funding: The acquisitions are financed using proceeds from a €500 million capital increase completed in February 2026 and other group resources. The transactions are not expected to affect the group's 2026 net debt/EBITDA guidance and are expected to support improvement in the 2028 and 2030 targets.
• Approximately 1,500 top-tier specialists: The group will bring together around 1,500 high-level professionals across Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, and the UAE, consolidating all critical technologies and distinctive capabilities required for both traditional and non-traditional underwater activities under a single platform.

Financial Outlook

On a pro-forma basis for 2026, Fincantieri projects the following for its underwater business:

• Revenues exceeding €1.1 billion and EBITDA of approximately €220 million, achieving the 2030 targets set in the 2026–2030 business plan four years ahead of schedule.
• A contribution of more than €60 million to the group's 2026 pro-forma net profit.
• Revenues expected to reach €1.4 billion in 2028 and €1.8 billion in 2030.
• Pro-forma EBITDA margin for the underwater business projected at 19.2% in 2026, 21% in 2028, and 23% in 2030.
• A contribution of approximately €130 million to group net profit by 2030.
• Earnings per share (EPS) growth of approximately 30% in 2028 and approximately 20% in 2030.
• At the group level, 2026 pro-forma EBITDA is expected to increase by 13% and pro-forma net profit by 40%.

Strategic Significance: From Equipment Supplier to Service Operator

The four acquired companies will be integrated into Fincantieri's underwater technology hub, which will coordinate product and commercial synergies and develop solutions for non-traditional underwater domains. The move marks a pivotal repositioning—from a technology solutions and platform supplier to the world's first industrial operator capable of integrating capabilities, systems, and services across the entire underwater value chain.

Existing management teams at the acquired companies will be retained through reinvestment of a significant equity stake in their respective companies, ensuring operational continuity and preservation of specialist expertise.

Fincantieri CEO and Managing Director Pierroberto Folgiero commented: "The acquisitions announced today mark a historic transformation for Fincantieri. We have created an international champion in the underwater domain, achieving full integration of technologies, capabilities, and operational expertise across the entire value chain. These acquisitions also allow us to accelerate the execution of our business plan, entering a high-growth market while significantly enhancing profitability. In a market where the dual-use component is expected to become increasingly important, we are also ensuring operational continuity at the acquired companies by retaining their existing management teams, as we firmly believe that expertise and execution are the core drivers of the group's growth."

Underwater Market Outlook

The underwater domain has seen a dramatic rise in strategic importance, driven by several key factors:

• Abundant seabed resources, including oil, gas, rare earth elements, and aquaculture opportunities for sustainable food production.
• 80% of the ocean floor and 98% of the deep sea remain unexplored.
• The growing strategic importance of infrastructure supporting maritime transport (ports), oil and gas (regasification terminals, pipelines), and offshore wind energy.
• Global data traffic relies on submarine communications cables: cables currently in service span 1.5 million kilometers and carry 99% of global internet traffic.
• Submarine power cables play a critical role in cross-border and intercontinental electricity transmission, including renewable energy.

The Mediterranean region is of particular significance—situated at the junction of three continents, with dense critical infrastructure and rapidly growing demand for intelligence, surveillance, defense, and deterrence activities.

The Four Acquired Companies

Next Geosolutions

Next Geosolutions Europe S.p.A. was founded in 2014 by a group of Italian entrepreneurs and shipping company Marnavi, and has been listed on Euronext Growth Milan since May 2024. The company serves the offshore renewable energy, offshore oil and gas, and subsea cable markets, offering full lifecycle solutions from marine surveying and geoscience through offshore construction and installation, inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR), to decommissioning. It is one of the few European operators with full underwater lifecycle capabilities. Revenues for 2025 are approximately €300 million.

WSense

WSense is a deep-tech startup spun out of La Sapienza University of Rome, focused on underwater communications and Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) technology, in which it has established a leadership position.

Graal Tech

Graal Tech specializes in autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and related control systems, dynamic models, simulation platforms, payload equipment, and dedicated monitoring and intervention equipment, with applications spanning commercial, defense, and dual-use domains.

Defcomm

Defcomm focuses on autonomous surface vehicle (USV) technology—one of the highest-demand segments in the current market—with substantial application potential in defense (integration of unmanned systems into naval fleets), dual-use (patrol of critical underwater infrastructure), and commercial survey and guard vessel services.

Integration Synergies in Action

A concrete example of synergy between the four companies: NextGeo's survey operations will be fully integrated aboard vessels built by Vard, equipped with Remazel launch and recovery systems for deploying and recovering Graal Tech drones for seabed survey, with all systems linked through WSense's underwater communications technology.

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Following completion of these acquisitions, Fincantieri's underwater business hub will encompass its submarine division, Remazel, WASS, IDS, and the four newly acquired companies—a total of eight market-leading enterprises—delivering full coverage of the underwater value chain and establishing Fincantieri as the world's only truly integrated underwater operator.

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