en.Wedoany.com Reported - Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri has completed a deep expansion into the underwater sector through four strategic acquisitions, aiming to build a vertically integrated operator covering the entire industrial chain. The group announced the acquisition of Next Geosolutions, WSense, Graal Tech, and Defcomm, with an initial expenditure of approximately €600 million, marking a comprehensive shift in its business focus from traditional submarines and naval platforms to the underwater value chain.

Upon completion of the integration, Fincantieri will have eight specialized entities and approximately 1,500 professionals, with operations spanning Italy, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates. The group aims to establish the underwater business as a growth pillar with strong dual-use characteristics, covering defense, security, energy, and civil services. This initiative follows the acquisitions of Remazel in 2024 and Wass in 2025, representing a strong push for the underwater center strategy outlined in the 2026-2030 Industrial Plan, transitioning its role from a platform and technology supplier to an end-to-end solution integrator.

In terms of business integration, Next Geosolutions contributes marine survey, geoscience, and offshore construction support services, with projected 2025 revenue of approximately €300 million; WSense provides underwater communication and monitoring systems, a spin-off from Università La Sapienza di Roma; Graal Tech, a spin-off from Università di Genova, specializes in unmanned underwater vehicles; and Defcomm expands the autonomous surface drone business, with equipment featuring proprietary software and radio and satellite communication systems. These specialized capabilities will operate synergistically: workboats built by Vard interface with Remazel's launch and recovery systems, Graal Tech's drones perform seabed missions, WSense's communication networks connect sensors and platforms, and Next Geosolutions provides full-cycle offshore services from survey to maintenance. This architecture drives Fincantieri toward an "Underwater-as-a-Service" model, where value derives not only from equipment sales but also from services, data, monitoring, and ongoing operational capabilities.

Financial data shows that the underwater segment recorded revenue of €667 million in 2025, accounting for 6.7% of the group's total revenue. Under the new business framework, pro forma revenue for 2026 is expected to exceed €1.1 billion, with EBITDA of approximately €220 million, allowing Fincantieri to achieve its 2030 underwater business targets four years ahead of schedule. The new acquisitions are expected to contribute over €60 million to the group's pro forma profit in 2026, with contributions projected to reach approximately €130 million by 2030. The segment's EBITDA margin is planned to rise from 19.2% in 2026 to 21% in 2028, and further to 23% in 2030; revenue is expected to grow from €1.4 billion in 2028 to €1.8 billion in 2030. Overall, these operations will increase the group's 2026 pro forma EBITDA by 13% and net profit by 40%. Financing comes from a €500 million capital increase completed in February 2026 and other available resources, without affecting the original guidance for net financial debt/EBITDA.

The strategic importance of the underwater sector stems from the central role of seabed infrastructure in the global economy. Currently, 1.5 million kilometers of submarine cables worldwide carry 99% of internet traffic. The Mediterranean, as a convergence point for three continents, hosts a concentration of critical infrastructure, with protection needs becoming increasingly urgent. The market is evolving in three directions: defense, dual-use, and civil applications. Fincantieri believes that industry fragmentation is a key current limitation, with much expertise dispersed among highly specialized small and medium-sized enterprises. The group aims to act as an integrator, enhancing industrial competitiveness through scale and market access.

Among the four acquired companies, WSense, a deep-tech growth enterprise spun off from Università La Sapienza di Roma, is seen as a key enabler of underwater communications. Its technology enables data exchange between platforms, sensors, and underwater vehicles, forming the core of an autonomous, interconnected underwater ecosystem. WSense has been collaborating with Fincantieri since 2023, with its technology already integrated into Fincantieri's Deep Demonstrator. WSense CEO Chiara Petrioli views this operation as a new growth phase, stating that the company will maintain its autonomy and identity as a deep-tech firm, with continuity in governance and management, while Fincantieri's stake provides industrial scale, global market access, and execution capabilities.

The specific structure of the acquisition deals has also been disclosed: Next Geosolutions was acquired at €16.25 per share for a 52.60% stake, with the company's 100% valuation at €780 million; WSense was acquired through a special purpose vehicle, with Fincantieri holding 61.95% equity, which can later increase to 75%; Defcomm initially received a 49% stake, which can increase to 51% within two years; Graal Tech acquired 51% equity from founding partners, with closing subject to Golden Power authorization. All acquisitions require founding partners and key management to remain in place to preserve the acquired companies' innovation speed and specialized capabilities.

Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero described this operation as a "historic industrial transformation," stating that these acquisitions create an "international underwater champion" by integrating the value chain. The group notes that the cumulative value of the underwater market from 2026 to 2030 is estimated at €155 billion, with the unconventional segment expected to grow at an average annual rate of 30%, driven by defense, critical infrastructure protection, and civil demand. For Italy, this operation concentrates expertise in shipbuilding, deep tech, robotics, communications, and offshore services under a single management umbrella, where industrial scale becomes a key competitive factor in the intertwined domains of security, data, and infrastructure.