Gabler buys majority stake in Estonia's DECK to expand subsea reach
What's the deal? Germany's Gabler GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has acquired a 75% stake in DECK Marine SystemsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Tallinn-based specialist in maritime handling systems. The deal value was not disclosed. Co-founder and former chief operating officer Jevgeni Gorbatšov becomes chief executive officer of DECK and keeps a 25% stake.
What each side brings: Gabler develops subsea technologies across submarine systems, subsea communications and data, and subsea power. DECK, founded in 2020, builds launch and recovery systems (LARS) for unmanned underwater vehicles, plus winches and devices for lowering sonar and sensors from ships.
What's the endgame? Gabler wants to become a provider of integrated maritime system solutions, working at the point where surface and subsea systems meet. DECK's handling technology strengthens its submarine systems and subsea communications and data units, opening routes into monitoring critical underwater infrastructure and deploying autonomous systems.
Why now? The deal gives Gabler a foothold in the Baltic region, which is strategically important to the EU and NATO. Rising defence spending and investment by international partners are lifting the region's value as a market for maritime technology.
"With DECK Marine Systems, we are consistently pursuing our approach of advancing Gabler GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s technological capabilities through targeted acquisitions," said David Schirm, chief executive officer of Gabler Group. He added that DECK brings "valuable expertise and additional engineering capacity."
What changes for DECK? The company is expected to gain from Gabler's international customer relationships and sales structures. Gabler, in turn, gains local access to procurement and investment programmes in Estonia.
The signal: European defence and maritime consolidation is accelerating as governments pour money into protecting underwater infrastructure. Gabler's bolt-on of a young, AI-focused Estonian engineering firm shows larger players buying capability to sell more complete systems — and positioning for a Baltic market reshaped by security spending.
Read more: finanzen.at
Image credit: Thomas Ormston
