A near-unanimous majority of shareholders at Italy-based defense and industrial conglomerate Finmeccanica have approved the company’s proposal to officially change its name to Leonardo from Jan. 1, 2017 after the famous scientist Leonardo Da Vinci.
Finmeccanica said Thursday it will operate under the name Leonardo-Finmeccanica through Dec. 31, 2016 in an effort to facilitate continuity of relationships with other countries and business partners.
The company will transition to the Leonardo name once its bylaws are included in the register of companies in Rome.
Finmeccanica reported approximately $14.6 billion in global revenue for 2015 with approximately $1.8 billion in contributions from its subsidiary DRS Technologies, a U.S. defense electronics and services contractor headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
Revenue at DRSÂ increased nearly 15.1 percent from the prior year period and represented approximately 12.5 percent of the parent company’s total sales in 2015.