By Alexander Hubner
MUNICH (Reuters) – Up to half of the 100 billion euro ($109 billion) special fund set up to modernize Germany’s military is likely to go to U.S. defense companies, a major box maker said tank speeds, accusing Berlin of having no strategy for its defense industry.
“I don’t think much of the money will be left for German industry,” Renk Group chief executive Susanne Wiegand told reporters in Munich, adding that the government in Berlin had failed to realize the strategic importance of the defense industry. .
“Germany doesn’t have a strategic compass for the defense industry. It’s something that the French manage much better,” she said Monday evening during an embargoed press briefing on Tuesday. .
Wiegand called on the government to use the 100 billion euro fund not only to fill short-term gaps in German army stocks, but also to help develop future technologies.
The Berlin Chancellery did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment sent to Reuters.
Renk, formerly a subsidiary of Volkswagen, is the world leader in the production of gearboxes for tanks including the Leopard 2.
The company, located in the Bavarian city of Augsburg, makes around 70% of its sales with gearboxes for tanks and naval vessels, the rest with gearboxes for civilian use such as compressors.
Three years after VW sold Renk to financial investor Triton for 700 million euros, the company is preparing for an IPO.
“I see the capital market as a next step in our development but nothing has been decided yet,” Wiegand said, without giving a date for a possible listing.
Renk has booked orders for a total of 3.9 billion euros ($4.3 billion), including framework contracts, according to the CEO.
Bankers estimate the value of Renk at around 2.5 billion euros in the event of an IPO.
($1 = 0.9175 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Hübner; Writing by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Rachel More and David Holmes)