Leonardo looking at M&A for growth of its cyber division

ROME (Reuters) - Italian defence company Leonardo is looking at a dozen domestic and foreign companies for possible acquisitions in the cyber security sector, and could close some deals by the end of the year, its chief executive said on Tuesday.         

"These are long processes, and we have been carrying out many of them in the last seven, eight months," CEO Roberto Cingolani told reporters on the sidelines of the Cybertech Europe conference in Rome, adding that "probably" some deals could be closed by the end of the year.

Cingolani said no single acquisition would cost more than 15% of the division’s turnover, as set out in the group’s strategy in March.         

Earlier during the conference, Cingolani confirmed that Leonardo expected double-digit growth in the coming years for its cyber-security business, which is "at the heart of our strategic development".

"We expect to grow double-digit in the cyber market over the next years with the objective of becoming a key European player," he said. 

In its 2024-2028 industrial plan, presented in March,  Leonardo said it would strengthen its core businesses but would also invest in digitalisation and leverage opportunities in cyber security, where orders and revenues would grow at 16% and 13% respectively over the five years of the plan.

 (Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Cristina Carlevaro and Susan Fenton)