The transaction comes less than three months after Kongsberg Maritime separated from Kongsberg Gruppen and began trading independently on the Oslo stock exchange on April 23. The company enters the deal with a record order backlog, growing new-ship activity and systems already installed aboard more than 30,000 vessels worldwide.

The financial terms were not disclosed. Kongsberg said the acquisition was priced at roughly the same enterprise-value-to-earnings multiple as Kongsberg Maritime’s current valuation and remains subject to regulatory approvals. Berg Propulsion will retain its name and operate as a separate business unit within Kongsberg Maritime’s Propulsion and Handling division.

“This acquisition is central in our growth plan and strengthens our ability to serve a broader range of customers and vessel segments,” Kongsberg Maritime CEO Lisa Edvardsen Haugan said.

The deal fills an important gap in the company’s portfolio. Kongsberg Maritime is strongest in sophisticated, performance-intensive vessels, including offshore ships, advanced commercial vessels, naval platforms and government fleets. Berg has a stronger position in higher-volume commercial markets such as cargo vessels and product tankers.

Together, the companies will offer controllable-pitch propellers, thrusters, hybrid and electric propulsion systems and integrated vessel-control technology across a wider range of ship classes. Kongsberg also sees an opportunity to move Berg propulsion systems into naval markets and sell more of its energy and control products to Berg’s existing customers.

Berg generated approximately €160 million in revenue in 2025, employs roughly 400 people and has equipment installed aboard about 4,000 vessels. Kongsberg Maritime generated NOK 27.1 billion in 2025 revenue and employs more than 8,300 people across 35 countries.

The timing is deliberate. Kongsberg Maritime reported that newbuild activity increased 9% during the second quarter and 12% during the first half of 2026. Its order backlog reached NOK 28.4 billion, with 87% connected to new-vessel deliveries. Naval and government vessels were the company’s second-largest source of newbuild orders during the first half, behind offshore energy.

The acquisition is centered in Europe, but it carries a clear message for Hampton Roads.

The companies winning in the new industrial economy are not confined to one market. They move between commercial shipping, naval platforms, weapons, sensors, autonomy, aerospace and lifecycle services. Hampton Roads is one of the few American regions where all of those markets exist at significant scale.

That convergence is already visible in James City County, where Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace is constructing the company’s first U.S. missile production facility.

The defense company is now separate from Kongsberg Maritime following the April spin-off, an important corporate distinction. But the two businesses share the same Norwegian industrial heritage and illustrate the breadth of technology developed under the Kongsberg name, from ship propulsion and naval systems to missiles, satellites and underwater surveillance. The remaining Kongsberg Gruppen operates across defense, ocean technology and the space value chain.

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace broke ground in January on a 150,000-square-foot manufacturing and maintenance facility in Toano. The project represents more than $100 million in investment, including $71 million for the facility and another $30 million in engineering, software and related costs. It is expected to create more than 180 jobs.

The facility will manufacture and support two weapons that connect the sea and air domains: the Naval Strike Missile and Joint Strike Missile.

The Naval Strike Missile is used by the Navy as an over-the-horizon weapon for surface ships and by the Marine Corps through its ground-based NMESIS system. The Joint Strike Missile is designed for the F-35A, providing a long-range precision-strike weapon that can be carried internally to preserve the aircraft’s low-observable profile. Both missiles can engage maritime and land targets.

Kongsberg expects missile manufacturing in James City County to begin in late 2027 and reach full-rate production by the end of 2028. Until then, the company is building the factory and establishing the workforce, suppliers and domestic production systems needed to support the programs.

The location matters.

Kongsberg has specifically highlighted the facility’s proximity to Naval Weapons Station Yorktown. The installation is home to Navy Munitions Command Atlantic, which manages East Coast ordnance support for fleet and shore commands, operates weapons outboarding and transshipment facilities and helps supply Atlantic, Fifth and Sixth Fleet customers.

That does not mean missiles produced in James City County will automatically move through Yorktown. Procurement, storage and transportation decisions will remain controlled by the military. But locating a missile production and sustainment operation near the Navy’s East Coast ordnance infrastructure creates an obvious strategic alignment.

The plant also sits inside a broader defense ecosystem extending from Naval Station Norfolk and the region’s shipyards to Joint Base Langley-Eustis, NASA Langley Research Center and the Port of Virginia. NASA Langley conducts major work in aviation, atmospheric science and space technology, giving the region a credible foundation across the sea, air and space domains.

Kongsberg’s expanding footprint demonstrates what that convergence can attract. Propulsion systems support the ships. Naval Strike Missiles give ships and ground forces greater reach at sea. Joint Strike Missiles connect the region to the F-35 and the air domain. The wider Kongsberg technology portfolio extends into satellites, sensors, underwater systems and surveillance.

For Hampton Roads, the opportunity is larger than one factory or one corporate acquisition. The region is positioned to compete for the manufacturing, maintenance, engineering and supply-chain work created when maritime, aerospace and defense technologies increasingly operate as one integrated system.

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The Ledger Star is an independent digital publication covering the people, decisions, investments, and ideas shaping the future of Hampton Roads. It focuses on what matters most to the region's business, civic, and community leaders, providing context and analysis rather than chasing every headline.