Theon International acquires 80% of the French manufacturer of gyro-stabilized turrets Merio, strengthening its defense portfolio and presence in France in its race towards one billion euros in turnover by 2029.
The Cypriot group Theon International recently announced the signing of an exclusivity agreement with RPL Développement, the sole shareholder of Merio, for the acquisition of 80% of this French company specialized in defense optronics, particularly in compact gyro-stabilized turret and gimbal systems. The completion of the operation, funded by borrowing and available cash, is subject to obtaining the usual regulatory approvals. The amount has not been disclosed.
Founded in 2014 and based in Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux, Drôme, Merio designs and manufactures compact and high-performance optronic systems for aerial, terrestrial, maritime, and infrastructure protection applications (from precision munitions to combat drones to unmanned ground vehicles) integrating video processing capabilities controlled by AI. Merio’s optronic balls are notably used in the Spy’Ranger, Thales’ mini reconnaissance drone system.
The company relies on around forty highly qualified engineers, a predominantly French and European supply chain, and technologies exempt from US ITAR regulations. For the 2026 fiscal year, Merio anticipates a turnover of over 15 million euros and a projected EBIT of more than 3.5 million euros.
For Theon, who specified that Merio’s management team will remain in place, this operation meets several simultaneous strategic objectives: diversification of the portfolio into the drone segment, establishing an export presence in France, commercial synergies through the existing customer network, purchasing synergies, and accelerating R&D in coordination with its other holdings, Kappa and ShockEOS.
“This transaction will accelerate the diversification of our revenues and will allow us to achieve our goal of one billion euros in turnover by 2029,” said Christian Hadjiminas, founder and CEO of Theon, emphasizing that Merio shares “the DNA” of the group: “a streamlined economic model, complete customization capabilities, high profit margins, and a strong entrepreneurial spirit.” He also reaffirmed the ambition to make Theon “a major player in French exports.”
Technologically, Dimitrios Mandridis, Technical Director of Theon, explained that “Merio’s stabilized gimbals effectively broaden Theon’s product range, traditionally focused on large electro-optical systems or land-based systems,” while allowing the group to provide components to Merio to secure its supply chains.
Remi Plenet, President and Technical Director of Merio, expressed confidence in the prospects opened by this coming together: “We anticipate a strong expansion of our exports, supported by their excellent commercial development capabilities and their global industrial presence,” adding that internalizing the supply of critical components will strengthen both Merio’s logistics chain and technological edge.
It is worth noting that Theon is applying an external growth strategy to fulfill its ambition of achieving a turnover of one billion euros by 2029. In August 2025, the Cypriot group had already acquired 100% of the German company Kappa Optronics, another company specialized in defense optronics. In October of the same year, Theon had also acquired 9.8% of the shares of another French defense electronics gem, Exosens (formerly Photonis), a provider of critical amplification, detection, and imaging solutions. Theon is Exosens’ main customer for night vision solutions.
