On 9 October 2026 the Government of Romania said it welcomed the approval of the acquisition of the Mangalia naval shipyard by the German group Rheinmetall. The yard's previous operator, Damen Shipyards Mangalia, went bankrupt; according to the statement, its financial difficulties led to the layoff of almost 1,000 employees. The government links the deal to the EU SAFE defence programme, under which it made investment in Romania's defence industry — including the shipyard — a condition for buying Rheinmetall military equipment, and says the planned investments should restart activity and create jobs. According to press reports quoting the judicial liquidator CITR, the buyer is Rheinmetall Real Estate România SRL and the price was about €138.0 million excluding VAT, achieved at the fifth auction after four auctions without bidders. The government statement itself gives no price.