German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann KMW & French Nexter Systems have completed their association 11512153

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Defence & Security Industry News - KMW & Nexter Systems
 
German Krauss-Maffei Wegmann KMW & French Nexter Systems have completed their association
Amsterdam, 15 December 2015. – After all required approvals have been obtained, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Nexter Systems have completed their association on 15 December 2015. From now on, two of the leading European manufacturers of military land systems based in France and Germany will operate jointly under the umbrella of a holding company under Dutch law with headquarters in Amsterdam.
     
Amsterdam, 15 December 2015. – After all required approvals have been obtained, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Nexter Systems have completed their association on 15 December 2015. From now on, two of the leading European manufacturers of military land systems based in France and Germany will operate jointly under the umbrella of a holding company under Dutch law with headquarters in Amsterdam. Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter Systems could become the most important European producer of military equipment in the next few months.
     
The sole shareholders of each of the two companies have transferred all their shares to the holding company in the legal form of an N.V.; in return they have each received 50 per cent of the shares in the holding.

As part of the completion, the supervisory board of the joint holding company has met in Amsterdam for its constitutive meeting. It comprises seven members and is chaired by the Belgium national, Christian Jourquin. The French owner appointed Jean-Severin Deckers (APE-State Holding Agency) and Bertrand Le Meur (DGA-French defense procurement agency) to the supervisory board; the owners of KMW appointed Dr. Manfred Bode and Axel J. Arendt.

Alongside the independent chairman of the supervisory board, both shareholders appointed Antoine Bouvier (CEO of MBDA) and Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Utz-Hellmuth Felcht onto the board as additional independent members. The shareholders’ meeting appointed KMW CEO Frank Haun and the new CEO of Nexter Systems, Stéphane Mayer as Co-CEOs of the holding company.

Nexter, the leading French land defence company, is dedicated to meeting the needs of French and other land forces internationally. The scope of its business includes the supply of weapon systems an ammunition for air and naval forces. The acquisition of Belgian company Mecar and Italian company Simmel Difesa enabled the establishment, along with Nexter Munitions, of the third European player in the ammunition sector. The group continues its international development policy with 56% of order intake in 2014 destined for the export market. In France, Nexter is fully committed to meeting the objectives of the SCORPION programme, through the renovation of the Leclerc tank and the development of the future GRIFFON and JAGUAR vehicles within the GME (temporary consortium).

Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG leads the European market for highly protected wheeled and tracked vehicles. At locations in Germany, Brazil, Greece, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the USA and Turkey, some 3,500 employees develop, manufacture and support a product portfolio ranging from air-transportable, highly protected wheeled vehicles (MUNGO, AMPV*, DINGO, GFF4 and BOXER*) through reconnaissance, anti-aircraft and artillery systems (FENNEK, GEPARD, LeFlaSys*, Armoured Howitzer PzH2000, DONAR* and AGM) to main battle tanks (LEOPARD 1 and 2), infantry fighting vehicles (PUMA*) and bridge-laying systems. In addition, KMW has wide-ranging system competence in the area of civil and military simulation, as well as in command and information systems and remote-controlled weapon stations with reconnaissance and observation equipment. The armed forces of more than 50 nations worldwide rely on tactical systems by KMW.