UAE's EDGE defense group may buy 30% of Ukrainian manufacturer of UAVs, missiles Fire Point – media
The EDGE defense group, owned by the sovereign fund of the United Arab Emirates, intends to buy a 30% stake in the Ukrainian defense-tech company Fire Point, which produces the eponymous FP-1 and FP-2 drones and the Flamingo missiles, BBC News Ukraine reported on Tuesday, citing confidential sources in the company familiar with the details of the deal.
It is noted that the amount of the deal is about $760 million, while the total value of the Ukrainian weapons manufacturer was estimated at $2.5 billion.
According to the publication, Fire Point has submitted the necessary documents to the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.
Currently, there is no official information about this potential deal.
This fall, Fire Point—one of the largest suppliers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the defense forces—significantly increased its publicity amid reports of an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). Among other events, Big Dialogue with Fire Point took place at the end of November. At this event, it was announced that Denys Shtilerman and Yehor Skalyha founded the company in 2022, later joined by Iryna Terek.
Shtilerman stated that businessman Tymur Mindich, involved in a corruption case in the energy sector, had applied for half of Fire Point's shares but was refused because he did not offer enough money.
According to information on its website, the EDGE defense group was created in 2019 and is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE. EDGE brings together over 35 organizations from six main clusters: platforms and systems; missiles and weapons; space and cyber technologies; EDGE Commercial; technology and innovation; and national security.