An American investment firm is preparing a last-minute bid for Austal USA in an attempt to prevent the Australian-owned defence shipbuilder from being acquired by South Korea’s Hanwha.
The move would set up a contest for the Mobile, Alabama-based business, which builds vessels for the US Navy and Coast Guard and has a growing role in the country’s submarine industrial base.
Hanwha Defence USA has already submitted a preliminary, non-binding offer valued at between US$1.05 billion and US$1.2 billion. Austal’s board has allowed the South Korean group to carry out four weeks of due diligence, but no agreement to sell has been reached.
The proposed transaction covers Austal USA’s US entities and operating assets, including its shipyard in Mobile and ship-repair operations in San Diego. Austal’s Australian, Philippine and Vietnamese businesses, along with its ASX-listed shares, would remain outside the deal.
The American counterbid is understood to be aimed at keeping control of the strategically important shipbuilding operation in US hands rather than allowing it to pass to Hanwha, which already owns Philadelphia-based Philly Shipyard.
Austal USA employs about 3,500 people and is involved in naval programmes ranging from surface ships and Coast Guard cutters to components for Virginia-class and Columbia-class submarines. The company is also expanding its manufacturing facilities in Alabama.
The sale process comes after Austal warned that its US division had been hit by substantial losses on several legacy programmes. The company said its 2026 financial result had been affected by cost and schedule problems involving tow, salvage and rescue ships, floating dry docks and landing craft.
Hanwha has said any agreement would depend on a full assessment of Austal USA’s operations and finances, as well as the necessary regulatory clearances. The American firm’s proposed intervention could now force Austal and its advisers to weigh competing offers before deciding whether the South Korean bid should proceed.
