Rheinmetall buys Romania's Mangalia shipyard for €138M
What's the deal? German defence manufacturer RheinmetallDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired Romania's Mangalia shipyardDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → for €138 million through a local subsidiary. The purchase, confirmed at auction on October 9, came after four previous rounds drew no bidders. The price equalled 75% of the yard's earlier €184 million valuation.
Why now? Mangalia, founded in 1976, had passed through state ownership and control by Daewoo ShipbuildingDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and the Damen GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. After a management dispute between Damen and the Romanian government, the yard entered insolvency in June 2024 and was declared bankrupt in April 2026.
What's the endgame? Rheinmetall plans to turn Mangalia into a "military-civil dual-use" European maritime manufacturing hub.
Not the only deal: Croatia's Uljanik Brodogradnja 1856Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → also changed hands. Turkey's Kuzey Star ShipyardDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → submitted a binding offer of €12.05 million for a 97.13% stake, above the €11.09 million starting price, through Croatia's restructuring and sales agency, CERPDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
What could go wrong? Because Kuzey Star sits outside the EU, the Uljanik deal must clear Croatia's foreign investment screening law. CERP will sign a transfer agreement, but the share handover will not happen immediately. The buyer has pledged to keep shipbuilding, repair, and floating-structure work in the Pula area.
The signal: Europe's shipbuilding map is being redrawn. Two historic yards — Mangalia and Uljanik, whose roots trace to 1856 — have found new strategic owners in the same window, as defence and foreign buyers move into distressed assets.
Read more: sohu.com
Image credit: p_v a l d i v i e s o
