Europe’s Big Defense Deals Will Find a Way, Leonardo Says

Europe’s fragmented defense industry will eventually succeed in creating major players that can take on rivals from the US and China, according to the head of Italy’s largest military contractor.

“I have no doubt that in the future, Europe will find a way” to create defense giants through M&A, Roberto Cingolani, chief executive officer of Leonardo SpA, said in Bloomberg TV interview at the company’s headquarters in Rome. But consolidation will take time, and will have to start with joint ventures and partnerships, he added. “You have to do it progressively.”