Leonardo DRS makes some stock available to buy

Investors will have a new opportunity to purchase stock in Leonardo DRS more than a year after the defense electronic and component maker became a publicly-traded company.

Leonardo DRS said Wednesday that its parent company has launched an offering of approximately 16.5 million shares in the subsidiary to the markets. The offering's underwriters will also have a 30-day option to buy 2.5 million more shares depending on investor reception and demand.

Once the offering completes, the Italy-headquartered parent Leonardo expects to own approximately 73.9% of DRS but that could fall to 72.8% if the underwriters exercise all their options for shares.

Based on Leonardo DRS' Wednesday closing stock price, the stake offering could have a value of between $343.0 million and $394.5 million when considering the option.

Leonardo DRS listed on the NASDAQ stock market in the fall of 2022 via its acquisition of RADA Electronic Industries, a transaction that gave the latter's investor base 19.5% of the combined company's stock.

The Leonardo parent currently holds the remaining 80.5% after having first acquired the DRS business in 2008.

Arlington, Virginia-headquartered Leonardo DRS plans to use the stock offering proceeds for both internal investments and acquisitions.

Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Securities and J.P. Morgan are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering.