Spanish systems company Escribano Mechanical and Engineering (EM&E) has repurchased the 32.2% stake it sold to the Omani State General Reserve Fund (SGRF) in 2016.
A spokesperson for the company confirmed the deal on 2 February, but declined to say why the move had been made, other than pointing out that it had served to return the company to 100% Spanish private ownership, in the hands of the founding brothers Javier Escribano, the president, and Angel Escribano.
He also would not give a price on the buy back, although national business press reports suggest it is around EUR34 million (USD39 million), valuing the company as a whole at around EUR104 million.
SGRF bought into the Spanish company in 2016 for EUR18 million, with Escribano saying at the time it was looking for a financial partner to help it expand.
Among the company's main contracts is providing 12.7 mm and 30 mm weapons systems for Spain's new 8×8 armoured infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), the Dragón.
As such, it forms part of the Tess Defence consortium, set up with the backing of the Spanish Ministry of Defence (MoD) with fellow industry partners Santa Bárbara Sistemas, the Spanish arm of General Dynamics European Land Systems, Indra, and Sapa Plasencia.
Escribano has also provided weapons systems for the Spanish Navy, and last month announced it had begun supplying its Guardian remote weapons systems (RWS) for use in the new 4×4 armoured vehicles being built by Samel-90 for the Bulgarian Special Operations Forces.
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