Leonardo chair rows back on Fincantieri merger comments
- - Leonardo chair rows back on Fincantieri merger comments
ReutersJanuary 20, 2026 at 11:01 AM
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A Leonardo logo is displayed above a stand on the first day of the Indo Pacific International Maritime Exposition in Sydney, Australia, November 4, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams
MILAN, Jan 20 (Reuters) - Leonardo's chairman on Tuesday rowed back on comments he made about a possible merger with Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri, dismissing them as a light-hearted quip.
Stefano Pontecorvo floated the idea of a future combination between the two state-controlled groups at a business conference in Milan on Monday.
The chair of the Italian defence and aerospace group was addressing an audience that included Claudio Cisilino, Fincantieri’s executive vice‑president for operations.
"I made a quip, in clearly joking tones, about a possible merger between Leonardo and Fincantieri," Pontecorvo, a retired career diplomat, said in a statement.
The remarks "do not reflect any hypothesis currently under consideration and there are no formal files or dossiers relating to potential industrial operations" between the two firms, he added.
Leonardo and Fincantieri cooperate on several programmes, but past discussions over deeper industrial integration have stalled amid political issues and diverging business priorities.
(Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, editing by Alvise Armellini)
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