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A German defence group has bought the gearmaker for the UK’s Spitfire fighter planes that fought during the Battle of Britain, bringing together two storied companies that were on opposing sides of the second world war.
The Bavaria-based Renk said that it would acquire the UK-based David Brown Defence in a deal worth about $200mn.
David Brown, which is based in the West Yorkshire town of Huddersfield and traces its history back to 1860, supplied gears for the Spitfires that battled the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain in 1940. They also made gearboxes for the Churchill tank and components for engines in some of the bombers that devastated German cities such as Hamburg and Dresden.
Renk was founded in 1873 in the city of Augsburg, becoming an important part of Germany’s war economy, making gearboxes for tanks used by Hitler’s Wehrmacht.
Today, both companies produce high-precision transmissions for heavy armoured and tracked military vehicles as well as for naval vessels such as frigates. Renk makes the gearbox for Germany’s main battle tank, the Leopard 2, while David Brown makes components for the British army’s Challenger.
Renk was also last year caught up in a German embargo on arms exports to Israel, prompting it to threaten to shift some of its production abroad so that it could continue selling parts for Israeli tanks. The embargo was later lifted after the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza.
Renk chief executive Alexander Sagel told the FT that he was delighted by the deal to acquire David Brown, adding that he was “very proud to support the national defence sovereignty of the UK”.
He said that the “really exciting” deal was part of the company’s plan to harness surging European defence spending to pursue acquisitions.
He said that Renk, which reported record turnover of €1.4bn last year, was particularly drawn to David Brown’s strong market position in the naval division, with access to high-value programmes in the UK, Canada and Australia with long lifetimes.
He said that integrating the Huddersfield site, which has around 500 employees, into Renk’s business would help it to meet the challenges of surging demand.
David Brown Defence is owned by private equity firm Stellex Capital Management, which acquired its parent company David Brown Santasalo in 2023. The company was not immediately available for comment.
UK defence companies that compete for the Ministry of Defence’s programmes have become attractive targets for European arms groups looking to expand operations.
Seeking to compete for Britain’s rifle replacement programme, Belgian gunmaker FN Browning Group in May announced its acquisition of UK sniper manufacturer Accuracy International.
Additional reporting by Sylvia Pfeifer in London
This story has been amended to remove an incorrect reference to the Spitfire as a jet
