Rheinmetall has submitted an initial bid for the German Naval Yards Kiel (GNYK) shipyard, positioning itself as a direct competitor to Thyssenkrupp's defense subsidiary, TKMS. The group announced in a presentation for an analyst conference on Thursday that it had tabled a non-binding offer for the yard. Rheinmetall representatives are expected to begin due diligence on the Kiel-based shipbuilder shortly. Rheinmetall is looking to expand its maritime footprint, having recently acquired the naval division of the Lürssen shipyard (NVL) to forge a multi-billion euro naval business unit.

'For us, this would be an opportunity, but not a necessity,' TKMS CEO Oliver Burkhard previously stated regarding the Kiel shipyard. TKMS had already submitted its own non-binding takeover bid for its smaller rival, German Naval Yards Kiel (GNYK).

(Reporting by Matthias Inverardi. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for corporate and markets).)