CEO: Leonardo DRS-RADA Merger On Track to Close Next Month

The merger of Leonardo DRS with Israeli radar maker RADA is on track to close by the end of next month, the company’s CEO tells Defense One.

The companies have been going through the regulatory process since announcing the deal in late June. The merger will combine RADA, a public company traded on the NASDAQ, and  Leonardo DRS, the wholly owned American subsidiary of Leonardo, the Italian aerospace and defense firm. The resulting public company is expected to be traded on NASDAQ using the ticker symbol DRS.

The moves will solidify Leonardo DRS as a “strong mid-tier company,” CEO Bill Lynn said in an interview on the sidelines of the Association of the U.S. Army’s annual meeting in Washington.

The combined company will be nimbler than larger firms because it has fewer layers of bureaucracy, Lynn said. That’s a huge advantage at a time when the Pentagon is stressing speed in its weapons procurements as it looks to counter China’s military technology advancements.

Leonardo DRS is largely an electronics company and system integrator that installs its technology on large platforms made by different companies. At AUSA, the company displayed a counter-drone system on a Stryker armored vehicle. 

Leonardo DRS attempted to go public in early 2021, but initial public offering was called off after parent Leonardo did not see the valuation it anticipated.