Rheinmetall (RHM) and Swiss shipping giant MSC have won the auction to acquire Romania’s Mangalia shipyard for €138 million, equivalent to approximately $155 million.
The German defence group confirmed the deal on Monday, with both partners planning to develop the Black Sea facility into a dual-use shipbuilding hub serving civilian and military markets.
The Mangalia shipyard is located south of Constanța on Romania’s Black Sea coast, positioning it as a strategically significant industrial asset in south-eastern Europe.
Rheinmetall and MSC expect to complete the purchase within weeks, with the site set to be subdivided into separate sectors and security zones to accommodate both types of operations.
For Rheinmetall Naval Systems, Mangalia will serve as the production base for four naval vessels commissioned by the Romanian government, including two 96-metre offshore patrol vessels and two 43-metre diver support vessels.
The acquisition price represents 75 percent of the originally agreed auction starting price, after three earlier auction rounds attracted zero bidders and administrators sought court approval to lower the threshold.
A court-appointed liquidator had initially set the asset value at €84 million, with creditors agreeing to begin auctions at €184 million before the price was stepped down under the sale rules.
Mangalia was previously part of a joint venture between the Romanian government and Dutch shipbuilder Damen Group, which held a 49 percent stake following an agreement struck in 2018.
Tim Wagner, CEO of Rheinmetall’s Naval Systems division, outlined the company’s ambitions for the site, stating: “Our aim is to further develop the existing infrastructure, improve production conditions and adapt capacity to meet future requirements.”
Wagner added that the site would “in the long term play a key role in the implementation of our strategic activities in South-Eastern Europe and to strengthen our industrial presence in the region.”
Rheinmetall entered the shipbuilding sector through its acquisition of Naval Vessels Lürssen in Germany, a deal completed in March 2026, before turning its attention to expanding its naval footprint further east.
The company confirmed in May that it was actively exploring a takeover of Mangalia as part of broader efforts to fulfil its Romanian Navy contract obligations and establish a scalable regional manufacturing base.
Once considered among the largest shipyards in Europe, Mangalia had experienced a prolonged period of uncertainty before the liquidation process ultimately attracted Rheinmetall and MSC as buyers.
The deal signals a significant push by Rheinmetall to cement itself as a major European naval shipbuilding force at a time of rising defence investment across the continent.
