Leonardo signed an agreement for the acquisition of 70% of the share capital of Alea - a company specialized in mission and business critical communication software - with the option of a subsequent acquisition of the remaining 30% of the capital.
Thanks to the operation, Leonardo, leader in professional communications and security with solutions sold in over 50 countries around the world, consolidates its offer with a mission critical multimedia application infrastructure compliant with 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) standards. Alea's skills will make it possible to strengthen the proposition in the broadband field, at the same time favoring the creation of integrated narrowband and broadband communication infrastructures and reducing time-to-market, a critical success factor in a rapidly evolving market.
In particular, the acquisition of Alea will make it possible to integrate into Leonardo's portfolio a new solution dedicated to operational communications in the railway sector according to FRMCS (Future Rail Mobile Communication System) standards and the “Talkway” suite for business critical communications. The new FRMCS technology, which will progressively replace the GSM-R standard currently in operation on thousands of kilometers of railways around the world, is a key element in the digitalisation of rail transport. The “Talkway” solution makes it possible to carry out professional “Push-To-Talk” communications from smartphones, comparable to communications via radio, video and photo management, messaging and localization constantly monitored from the operations room via a dedicated web platform.
In line with the Be Tomorrow 2030 strategic plan, Leonardo continues to enhance its offer dedicated to the protection and monitoring of the territory. In fact, the company command and control solutions will be enriched with new features and advanced performances, capable of collecting, filtering and correlating in a single system, cyber secure by design, data and information from different sources, to support decisions and interventions in real time. of government agencies, public safety, critical infrastructures and transport.
The closing of the transaction is subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions precedent - including the experiment of the so-called “Golden Powers” procedure - and is expected in the third quarter of the year.
