Citing “adverse market conditions,” Italian aerospace and defense contractor Leonardo on Wednesday postponed plans to take its U.S.-based Leonardo DRS subsidiary public, just more than a week after announcing it was going to allow investors to take a minority stake in the U.S. business.
Leonardo said there was investor interest in Leonardo DRS in the $20 to $22 per share price range being advertised for the initial public offering (IPO) but added “adverse market conditions did not allow an adequate valuation of DRS.”
The planned IPO, which was first announced on March 15, would have raised between $638 million and $701.8 million, giving investors a 22 percent stake in the company. The plan was to list the company on the New York Stock Exchange using the stock ticker symbol “DRS.”
Leonardo said it may attempt to take Leonardo DRS public again.
“DRS remains a core part of Leonardo’s business portfolio and the IPO will potentially be revisited when market conditions are more favorable and a successful IPO at an appropriate valuation for this strategic business can be achieved,” the company said in a statement. “Leonardo remains excited about the prospects of DRS and will continue to support its development within the Leonardo Group.”
Leonardo DRS had about $2.8 billion in sales in 2020, down a percent from 2019. The company is executing on several major program wins in the past three years, including the U.S. Army’s Interim Maneuver Short-Range Air Defense, the TROPHY Active Protection System, infrared countermeasures for the Army and Navy, weapons sights, and the Army’s Mounted Family of Computer Systems.
The company has a broad range of capabilities in force protection, C5ISR, power and propulsion, sustainment and logistics, and training and simulation.
Leonardo, which was previously known as Finmeccanica, acquired DRS in 2008 for $5.2 billion. Before the acquisition, DRS Technologies was a publicly traded company with sales of just over $3 billion. DRS has been led by William “Bill” Lynn since 2012.
Leonardo also has other U.S. operations separate from DRS, including aircraft and helicopters businesses.