"The Italians are coming! The Italians are coming!"
Somehow, this alarm just doesn't have the ring of "Redcoats." Nor, in this Fool's opinion, do U.S. investors need to take up muskets to stave off Italian acquirers' recent invasion of Wall Street. They're just not that scary.
Wait, what invasion?
OK, perhaps two acquisitions don't quite constitute an "invasion." First, news broke in May that Italian defense conglomerate Finmeccanica is buying DRS Technologies -- thus slipping into line behind firms like Boeing
Second, and more pertinent to today's column, came Monday's announcement that Manitowoc
Now, members of Motley Fool Hidden Gems will most likely know Manitowoc as the firm that beat out first Middleby
From Manitowoc's perspective, unloading its smallest and least profitable business looks like a good idea. Management can certainly find better uses for the $120 million it will get for MMG. (For example, paying down the approximately $2 billion in debt it assumed to acquire Enodis.)
Meanwhile, Fincantieri gets itself a first-rate shipbuilder and, much like Finmeccanica, an "in" into a major Pentagon weapons program: The Littoral Combat Ship that Lockheed Martin
So you say the Italians are coming? I say: "Let 'em come." Everyone's a winner in this deal.
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