French defence firm Thales said Monday it plans to acquire a major stake in Exail Technologies, a manufacturer of mine clearance drones, and plans to launch a buyout offer to acquire the company.
“With this acquisition, Thales aims to increase its scale in the underwater warfare market, and to expand its capabilities in inertial navigation systems through the addition of Exail’s complementary expertise,” it said in a statement.
Thales will first buy a 35.51 percent stake in Exail held by the Gorge family.
This transaction, and a subsequent buyout offer, will be made at 134 euros per share, putting a 3.9-billion-euro ($4.5 billion) enterprise value on Exail.
The offer price represents a 44 percent premium over Exail’s share price on June 25.
Thales said the acquisition of Exail would boost its adjusted earnings per share from the first year.
Paris-based Exail develops dual-use technologies not subject to US trade restrictions on defence and space-related equipment and has defence and civilian customers in more than 80 countries.
The company specialises in cutting‑edge technologies in robotics, navigation, aerospace and photonic, and posted revenue of 479 million euros in 2025.