German cartel office clears Rheinmetall, Ukrainian defence firm JV in Kyiv

Germany’s cartel office on September 28 cleared the formation of a joint venture between German defence contractor Rheinmetall and the state-owned Ukrainian Defense Industry (UDI).

The joint venture is to be based in Kyiv and will work on service and maintenance for military vehicles there, so it poses no competitive overlaps in Germany, the cartel office said, according to Reuters.

Rheinmetall is a manufacturer of military vehicles including the Leopard main battle tank and Puma infantry fighting vehicle.

UDI is a Ukrainian state-owned company in the defence sector with around 67,000 employees.