Rheinmetall Buys Romania's Mangalia Shipyard for €138 Million

German defense manufacturer Rheinmetall agreed to purchase the Romanian Mangalia shipyard for €138 million, in a deal confirmed by the company's judicial liquidator. The acquisition seeks to quickly restart activity at the shipyard in order to build four vessels for the Romanian Navy.

The sale was closed on October 9 after four previous auction attempts failed to attract buyers. The process was overseen by judicial liquidator CITR, and Rheinmetall ended up paying 75% of the original starting price set for the auction, after the liquidator had valued the shipyard's assets at €84 million, while the first rounds had started from a floor of €184 million.

The shipyard, founded in 1976, came under South Korean ownership through Daewoo in 1997 before the Dutch company Damen partnered with the Romanian state in 2018, holding a 49% stake in the joint venture against the government's 51%. The partnership broke down in 2023 over a dispute regarding management rules, which led to the company's insolvency in 2024 and a court-declared bankruptcy in April 2026, with total debt reaching €190 million. At its peak, the plant employed between 2,000 and 2,500 workers.

Rheinmetall had entered the shipbuilding business with the acquisition of Naval Vessels Lürssen (NVL) in Germany, completed in March 2026, and in May of that year secured a contract worth around €920 million under the European SAFE program, which includes the construction of two offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) and two support vessels for the Romanian Navy. The company stated that the goal is to turn Romania into a major European shipbuilding hub, and confirmed it is considering sharing use of the shipyard with shipping company MSC Mediterranean Shipping Group, which had already expressed interest in reviving the plant for the maintenance and construction of commercial vessels.

Romania's Defense Minister, who previously served as Minister of Economy, described the deal as a key step toward revitalizing the shipyard and restoring employment in Mangalia. The official recalled that, at the start of the process, an offer of just €10 million had been received for the plant, a proposal he rejected despite criticism from his opponents.