Image: Centauro II armoured vehicle via Leonardo
Leonardo has completed its acquisition of Iveco Group’s defence business for €1.7 billion, consolidating its position as a fully integrated land systems manufacturer and reshaping the competitive landscape of European ground defence.
The Italian defence group acquired 100% of IDV Group S.r.l. — the newly formed Italian holding company encompassing the IDV and ASTRA vehicle brands — at a price consistent with the previously disclosed enterprise value of €1.7 billion, after contractual adjustments. Leonardo financed the deal entirely from available cash.
The acquired business reported revenues of €1.368 billion in 2025. It operates six manufacturing sites across Italy, Germany, Romania, and Brazil, employs around 2,000 people, and runs 12 commercial offices spanning Europe, the United States, and Brazil. Seven research and development centres operate across Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Brazil.
The product portfolio covers light and medium armoured vehicles, heavy armoured platforms, and logistic and tactical vehicles, primarily for military customers.
Closing a Critical Capability Gap
The deal resolves a long-standing gap in Leonardo’s land systems offer. The group has historically led in defence electronics — command-and-control, electro-optics, and next-generation turrets — but lacked the vehicle platforms needed to compete as a full prime contractor on major ground programmes.
Combined, the two businesses can now offer end-to-end integrated solutions: IDV’s wheeled and tracked platforms paired with Leonardo’s electronics suites. That integration becomes increasingly important as NATO armies modernise ground fleets and move toward single-source procurement of complete combat systems.
CEO Roberto Cingolani said the transaction delivers the industrial capability to span both mobility and payload. “The acquisition strengthens our position as a leading player in the land defence sector,” he said, according to Leonardo. He described it as a further step in the group’s inorganic growth strategy — one of the central pillars of its industrial plan.
A Market Primed for Growth
European land defence spending has surged since 2022. NATO members face mounting pressure to replenish armoured vehicle inventories and fund next-generation programmes. Procurement competitions for infantry fighting vehicles, armoured personnel carriers, and protected logistics platforms are active or imminent across Germany, Poland, Italy, and the Baltic states.
Leonardo now sits alongside Rheinmetall, KNDS, and Hanwha’s European partnerships as a credible prime in that market. IDV’s established customer relationships in Central and Eastern Europe complement Leonardo’s broader NATO and Middle East client base.
Industrial Integration
Leonardo said the transaction drives manufacturing synergies and accelerates joint development. The six IDV production sites — particularly in Germany and Romania — extend Leonardo’s industrial footprint into key European markets.
The company added that the combined workforce would benefit from cross-discipline development, with new opportunities to strengthen skills across vehicle engineering and defence electronics verticals.
General Dan Caine’s words on a different matter come to mind: the work, Leonardo would say, continues.
Source: Leonardo Press Release
