UAE’s EDGE completes takeover of Italian engine maker CMD

Key Points

1. EDGE Group closed its acquisition of a controlling stake in Italy's CMD, signing in Rome.
2. An earlier EDGE statement put the stake at 80%; the deal value was not disclosed.
3. The purchase hands the Emirati group piston-engine production for drones, marine and automotive markets in Europe.

The latest:

EDGE Group has completed its purchase of a controlling stake in Italian propulsion specialist CMD, signing the deal in Rome after an agreement reached in May 2026 at CMD’s plant in Atella, in the southern Basilicata region. The group said the transaction gives it direct access to more than 35 years of piston-engine expertise. No financial value was disclosed.

Details:

• The stake: EDGE did not put a price on the transaction. A previous statement by the group set the acquired holding at 80%, with existing shareholders keeping an influential minority stake and staying on in key management roles inside CMD.
• The priority: Supplying engines for EDGE’s own unmanned aerial systems is the immediate priority, the group said, pointing to discussions over large-volume orders. It did not disclose either the value or the quantities under discussion.
• Marine plans: EDGE said it is also studying the use of CMD’s high-performance engines in marine applications, working with its subsidiary Abu Dhabi Ship Building and other partners. CMD will continue serving its automotive customers and expanding that side of the business.
• The investment: The group intends to inject capital to expand CMD’s manufacturing capacity and accelerate research into conventional and advanced propulsion systems, without specifying how much. Both sides will draw up an integration plan while keeping technical expertise inside the Italian firm.
• EDGE’s framing: Managing Director and CEO Hamad Al Marar said the acquisition supports building an advanced European propulsion hub, through investment in CMD’s people, facilities and technology to meet demand across unmanned systems, marine and automotive markets.
• The seller: CMD Group CEO Mariano Negri said the partnership allows higher production capacity by combining the company’s engineering know-how with EDGE’s industrial capabilities. CMD was founded in 1989 by the Negri family and designs propulsion systems and prototypes for automotive, marine and aviation.
• Europe push: The deal fits EDGE’s European expansion through local manufacturing, the approach behind the EDGE Europe platform launched in Paris in June 2026. The group signed a memorandum of understanding with the Basilicata region that same month on industrial cooperation and skills development.
• Earlier deals: The acquisition follows a run of European agreements, including finalizing a joint venture with Italy’s Leonardo at the Eurosatory 2026 show in Paris, targeting commercial opportunities worth more than 4 billion euros over five years.
• Latin America: EDGE announced in July an agreement to acquire Brazilian aviation engineering firm Akaer, to strengthen its unmanned systems, electro-optical and space capabilities. It had earlier bought a 51% stake in Brazil’s Condor, which specializes in security and non-lethal weapons technologies, in May 2024.
• The group: EDGE comprises more than 35 subsidiaries operating across five main sectors: platforms and systems, missiles and weapons, space and cyber technology, technology and innovation, and national security solutions.

Between the lines:

The sequence EDGE has laid out — a European platform launched in Paris, a cooperation memorandum in Basilicata, then a controlling stake in a plant in that same region — points to a strategy of buying into the European industrial base rather than exporting into it. Retaining CMD’s founding shareholders and managers suggests the engineering capability, not the factory, is the asset being bought.

What’s next

Watch for the integration plan the two sides said they would draw up, any disclosure of the large-volume engine orders under discussion, and whether the Leonardo joint venture converts its 4-billion-euro five-year target into signed contracts.