Red Cat Offers €39 a Share to Acquire Steyr at a Premium of Up to 28.9%
Key Facts
Red Cat announced on October 19, 2026, a proposed voluntary cash offer to buy all shares in Steyr Motors for €39 a share, in a move it said would support its strategy for unmanned surface vessels. The price gives shareholders of the Austrian company a premium of 28.9% to the stock’s close on October 16 and 27.3% to its 30-day volume-weighted average price. The companies then signed a business combination agreement on October 21, but the offer has not become a completed deal; it remains subject to acceptance conditions and regulatory approvals. Red Cat said the cash offer is fully funded, following non-binding talks that stopped in July 2026 and later resumed. In premarket trading on the day the offer was announced, Steyr shares rose 20% and were on track for their best session since March 2025, according to Reuters.
Red Cat’s stated industrial rationale centers on combining Steyr’s marine engine technology and manufacturing expertise with Red Cat’s defense relationships and autonomous maritime portfolio. The company said the combination would strengthen its Blue Ops strategy for unmanned surface vessels, explaining the link between Steyr’s industrial business and its maritime plans. Three days before announcing the offer, Red Cat unveiled the 18-foot B-18 boat, designed for tactical missions and one-way attacks. It also showcased the 39-foot B-39 boat, which it said had entered low-rate production and was available for orders. This timing places the new vessel portfolio alongside Red Cat’s effort to secure marine manufacturing and engine expertise, in line with the rationale stated by the company.
Steyr has a base of orders and long-term contracts, saying its order backlog exceeds €300 million through 2030. A framework agreement with KNDS also covers about 500 engine and generator units through 2034, with deliveries set to begin in September 2026. But financial performance in the first nine months of the year showed a mixed picture: revenue rose to €35.3 million from €34.4 million in the same period of 2025, a 2.7% increase. By contrast, EBIT turned to a loss of €0.7 million, after posting a profit of €4 million a year earlier. In the third quarter alone, revenue increased 11.2% year over year to €12.5 million from €11.3 million, and rose 13.4% compared with the second quarter of 2026.
The figures follow Steyr’s withdrawal in August of its medium-term 2027 outlook because of delays to defense projects. The company said at the time that about €10 million in revenue planned for the first half of 2026 had not materialized as expected. In October, it reaffirmed its guidance for fiscal 2026, forecasting revenue growth of between 15% and 25% and an EBIT margin of between 8% and 12%. It said the final quarter was likely to make the largest contribution toward meeting its annual targets. Red Cat, meanwhile, reported revenue of $20.2 million in the second quarter of 2026, up 527% from the corresponding quarter of 2025. These results provide financial context for both companies as Red Cat seeks to expand its maritime operations through the offer.
The agreement includes time-bound commitments to protect Steyr’s operations at its site: Red Cat has pledged not to move the company’s headquarters, manufacturing or research and development from the site for three years after completion of the offer. It has also pledged for two years not to lay off technical employees for operational reasons or push for other operational layoffs. Steyr’s largest shareholder, B&C Holding Österreich, has undertaken to tender its stake of about 15% of the capital into the offer. Steyr’s executive and supervisory boards welcomed the offer and said they would recommend its acceptance after reviewing the offer document, in accordance with their duties. Reaching the minimum acceptance threshold of 50% of the shares plus one share remains a key condition for completion.
The offer document set December 18, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Central European Time, as the expected end date for the acceptance period. It also requires foreign investment approvals or the expiry of applicable waiting periods in Austria, Australia, Italy and the United Kingdom by June 30, 2027, at the latest. The deal process therefore combines a shareholder decision with completion of approvals in four countries. Red Cat shares closed at $4.87 on October 27, 2026, according to EL7 data. The outcome remains contingent on meeting the offer conditions by the specified deadlines, while the agreement provides for protections for Steyr’s site and jobs for set periods after completion.