Rafael Signs Agreement to Buy VW Plant
The plan would repurpose the plant for Iron Dome components and preserve thousands of jobs, while moving the site toward defense production.
- On Monday, Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Lower Saxony, and Aurelius Capital signed a letter of intent to acquire the Volkswagen Osnabrück plant, potentially saving around 2,300 jobs scheduled for closure by 2027.
- The agreement circumvents opposition from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, which holds about 17% of Volkswagen's voting rights, by removing a direct partnership between the car giant and Rafael.
- Lower Saxony Premier Olaf Lies said the state will invest about 200 million euros to transform the factory into a defense production center, focusing on an 'anchor project' for Iron Dome components.
- Rafael CEO Yoav Turgeman stated the partnership strengthens European security by manufacturing technology entirely in Germany, while Aurelius Capital partner Tomer Jacob called it the first step in a long-term strategic cooperation.
- The project now moves to detailed negotiations and regulatory reviews to finalize the development outline, aiming to reposition Osnabrück within the evolving European defense landscape after 125 years of industrial excellence.
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Volkswagen has completed an agreement in principle with the Israeli defense company "Rafael" to convert its factory in Osnabrück, Germany, into a military factory. The post Volkswagen factory in Germany is being converted into a Rafael military factory appeared first on in.gr.
Volkswagen is selling the plant to the Israelis for the production of air defense systems
Volkswagen is selling the plant to the Israelis for the production of air defense systems.The Israeli Aurelius Capital fund, together with the government of Lower Saxony, is buying out Volkswagen's Osnabrück plant. The civilian enterprise will...
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The defence industry cannot absorb all Volkswagen's job losses, but it offers new prospects to the troubled country.
The Volkswagen factory in Osnabrück, Germany, is being acquired by a foreign owner. The buyer is the Israeli investment company Aurelius, which focuses on defense and cybersecurity. Production of Volkswagen cars at the factory will cease next year, the company announced. Instead, air defense systems for Europe and Germany will be manufactured there. The factory will also produce components for an Israeli defense company involved in the Iron Dome…
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