--- title: "Maryland promised Anduril nearly $500 million in tax breaks before its legislature votes on $75 million" description: "Maryland bought Anduril's $3.7 billion Arsenal-2 shipyard with nearly $500 million in tax breaks assembled in secret, while the $75 million state share still awaits a General Assembly vote and the $90 billion tender closes November 9." publisher: "The Inference" section: "Policy & Labor" published: 2026-10-27T16:24:03.443Z modified: 2026-10-27T16:24:03.443Z canonical: https://theinference.org/article/maryland-promised-anduril-nearly-500-million-in-tax-breaks-before-its-legislature-votes-on-75-million language: en keywords: "Anduril, Maryland, Tax Incentives, Shipbuilding, Defense" --- # Maryland promised Anduril nearly $500 million in tax breaks before its legislature votes on $75 million > Maryland bought Anduril's $3.7 billion Arsenal-2 shipyard with nearly $500 million in tax breaks assembled in secret, while the $75 million state share still awaits a General Assembly vote and the $90 billion tender closes November 9. It began with a text. On December 16, 2025, [Anduril](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/anduril) co-founder Matt Grimm messaged Maryland Governor Wes Moore: the defense startup was hunting for a site to spend billions, was Maryland interested? [1] Nine days of quiet dealmaking later, on Christmas Eve, company and Tradepoint Atlantic officials held a call about the old Bethlehem Steel shipyard. In March, county officials slipped onto a Southwest flight for a secret 20-hour visit to Anduril's California headquarters [1]. In April, Maryland sent [its "best and final" incentive letter](https://www.thebanner.com/economy/growth-development/anduril-deal-moore-trump-tradepoint-WOZ6IACSKRFRRJ6LNDNGLDCMZA/). Nobody outside a handful of officials knew a thing until the October 6 reveal. [1] ## The bill arrived before the vote What the state bought: Arsenal-2, a $3.7 billion Anduril shipyard plant at Sparrows Point with about 3,172 permanent jobs [1]. What it paid before anyone could object: nearly $500 million in tax breaks [1]. Baltimore County approved $210 million in personal property breaks, the largest package in its history [1]. The state promised $75 million over six years for construction and a training center, and that money still needs approval from the Maryland General Assembly, which has not voted [1]. Roughly $200 million more is expected from existing state programs. [1] ![Aerial view of the Tradepoint Atlantic industrial site at Sparrows Point, Maryland, the former Bethlehem Steel shipyard.](https://storage.googleapis.com/theinference-public/img/be5199bad689f061.jpg) *The Sparrows Point site Anduril plans to build on: Tradepoint Atlantic, the former Bethlehem Steel shipyard, in a January 2023 aerial photo. (AAICDrones)* *Chart: **Nearly $500 million in tax breaks, and the state's $75 million share still needs a vote** Bars showing the Maryland and Baltimore County incentive package for Anduril's Arsenal-2 plant: $210 million county personal property tax breaks, about $200 million in existing state programs, and $75 million in state funding pending General Assembly approval.* *Millions of dollars committed or expected for Anduril's Arsenal-2 plant, by source. The $75 million state share is subject to Maryland General Assembly approval; the ~$200 million is expected from existing programs, not yet itemized. Source: The Banner, October 27, 2026. [1]* ## Priced on a promise Anduril's anchor is a $2.9 billion Navy contract to build Virginia-class submarine components, work long split between Electric Boat and [Huntington Ingalls](https://theinference.org/markets/companies/huntington-ingalls-industries). [1] The private market has priced that story fast: [an employee tender opened October 13 at $94.80 a share](https://shattered.io/anduril-employee-tender-offer-90-billion-valuation-2026/), about $1.3 billion capped, implying roughly $90 billion, [up 48 percent from the $61 billion May round](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4653067-anduril-valuation-may-climb-to-90b-in-employee-share-sale). [2] [3] Here is the tension. [Buyers paying $94.80 are pricing delivery](https://theinference.org/article/anduril-s-90-billion-tender-prices-the-arsenal-2-promise-not-the-delivery): a shipyard opening in 2030, hiring from 2029 [1]. Taxpayers are pricing the same promise, and their legislature has not even approved the $75 million. [1] Watch November 9, when the tender closes. Then watch Annapolis, where the vote decides whether Maryland's half of the bargain was ever really on the table. ## Takeaway Maryland assembled nearly $500 million in tax breaks for Anduril's $3.7 billion Arsenal-2 shipyard in secret, and the $75 million state share still awaits a General Assembly vote as Anduril's tender at a roughly $90 billion valuation closes November 9. ## Sources 1. [The Banner, Secret flights and texts to the governor: Inside the making of the Anduril deal, 27 October 2026](https://www.thebanner.com/economy/growth-development/anduril-deal-moore-trump-tradepoint-WOZ6IACSKRFRRJ6LNDNGLDCMZA/) 2. [Shattered.io, Anduril Tender Offer Hits $90B, $94.80 a Share, updated 23 October 2026](https://shattered.io/anduril-employee-tender-offer-90-billion-valuation-2026/) 3. [Seeking Alpha, Anduril valuation may climb to $90B in employee share sale, 14 October 2026](https://seekingalpha.com/news/4653067-anduril-valuation-may-climb-to-90b-in-employee-share-sale) --- Maryland promised Anduril nearly $500 million in tax breaks before its legislature votes on $75 million — The Inference. Canonical: https://theinference.org/article/maryland-promised-anduril-nearly-500-million-in-tax-breaks-before-its-legislature-votes-on-75-million