![FILE PHOTO: A logo of defence group Leonardo is pictured on their booth during EBACE in Geneva](https://freeamericanetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/leonardo-to-sell-satellite-business-ges-to-ses-for-450-million.jpg)
FILE PHOTO: A logo of defence group Leonardo is pictured on their booth during the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/
March 22, 2022
MILAN (Reuters) – Italian defence group Leonardo said on Tuesday its U.S. unit DRS had agreed to sell its satellite communications business GES to SES for $450 million, gross of taxes, to optimise its portfolio and focus on its core business.
Closing of the deal is expected for the second half of 2022, Leonardo added in a statement, confirming its net debt guidance for this year at around 3.1 billion euros ($3.40 billion).
GES is the largest provider of commercial satellite communications to the U.S. government and also supplies satellite communications and security solutions to customers across the world, Leonardo said.
($1 = 0.9111 euros)
(Reporting by Agnieszka Flak, editing by Cristina Carlevaro)