Thales announced on Monday that it has entered into a binding agreement to purchase the Gorgé family’s combined 35.51% holding in Exail Technologies for €134 per share, an offer that pegs Exail’s enterprise value at €3.9 billion. The move is part of Thales’ strategy to strengthen its capabilities in underwater warfare systems and inertial navigation.
The agreed price represents a 44% premium to Exail’s unaffected closing share price of €93.15 on June 25, 2026 - the day prior to press reports indicating third-party interest in the company. Following closing of the initial stake acquisition, Thales intends to launch a mandatory tender offer to acquire 100% of Exail’s outstanding shares and ODIRNANE bonds at the identical price of €134 per share, with completion contingent on receiving necessary antitrust and other regulatory clearances.
Exail reported €479 million in revenue for 2025 and employs in excess of 2,200 staff. The company holds the leading position in Europe for maritime mine-countermeasure robotics and ranks second worldwide in naval inertial navigation systems. Operating as an ITAR-free group, Exail markets dual-use defence and civilian technology in nearly 80 countries.
Thales has outlined expected financial benefits from the combination, projecting combined adjusted EBIT synergies of more than €90 million by 2032. Those projections include commercial synergies that Thales expects to drive roughly €500 million of additional revenue within a ten-year window and cost efficiencies that are forecast to contribute in excess of €60 million of additional adjusted EBIT by 2030.
The company provided valuation metrics for the transaction: an implied enterprise value to 2027 EBIT multiple of about 24 times after taking into account cost synergies, and around 20 times when both cost and revenue synergies are considered. Thales indicated that adjusted earnings per share should be accretive in the first year after closing, excluding implementation costs and purchase price allocation effects, and that the transaction’s return on capital should surpass Thales’ weighted average cost of capital by the fifth year.
Patrice Caine, Thales chairman and chief executive, said the combination would "strengthen our high-technology industrial base and innovation for our world-class defence and civil customers, while reinforcing Europe’s technological sovereignty."
Thales, which employs more than 85,000 people across 65 countries and reported 2025 sales of €22.10 billion, said the acquisition would leave its pro forma net financial leverage at about 0.7 times by 2027, a level the company said preserves its investment-grade credit profile. The company also confirmed there will be no change to its existing dividend policy as a result of the transaction.
Timelines set out by Thales envisage closing of the initial purchase of the Gorgé family stake by the third quarter of 2027. The subsequent mandatory tender offer for the remainder of Exail’s securities is expected to conclude by early 2028, subject to the customary regulatory approvals required for transactions of this nature.
Key details:
- Purchase price: €134 per Exail share; implied enterprise value €3.9 billion.
- Stake acquired from the Gorgé family: 35.51%.
- Mandatory tender offer to follow for 100% of Exail shares and ODIRNANE bonds at €134 per share, subject to approvals.
Financial and operational profile of Exail:
- 2025 revenue: €479 million.
- Employees: more than 2,200.
- Market positions: top in Europe for maritime mine-countermeasure robotics; second globally in naval inertial navigation systems.
- Business reach: dual-use defence and civilian technology sold in nearly 80 countries as an ITAR-free group.
Projected synergies and valuation:
- Combined adjusted EBIT synergies: >€90 million by 2032.
- Expected commercial revenue uplift: ~€500 million within ten years.
- Cost efficiencies: >€60 million additional adjusted EBIT by 2030.
- Implied EV/2027 EBIT multiple: ~24x after cost synergies; ~20x after cost and revenue synergies.