The chairman of Leonardo, an Italian defence and aerospace company, floated the idea on Monday?of a possible future merger between Leonardo and Fincantieri.

Stefano Pontecorvo, speaking at a Bocconi University conference in Milan, told an audience that he hopes the two groups can merge one day. He addressed his remarks to Claudio Cisilino (Fincantieri's executive vice-president of operations), who was in the audience.

"I hope one day that a merger might be possible between us," said?Pontecorvo without giving any further details.

Fincantieri, a company controlled by the Italian government, and Leonardo already work together on a number of?programmes. However, past discussions about deeper industrial integration have stalled due to divergent business priorities and political issues. Fincantieri's latest five-year plans focuses on the expansion of their defence business.

(source: Reuters)