KNDS Juggles Berlin Plant Talks and Oslo Expansion as €33bn Order Book Drives IPO Momentum
31.05.2026 - 03:42:13 | boerse-global.de
The Franco-German defence group KNDS is racing to turn a record €33.1bn order backlog into actual hardware, a challenge that is pulling the company simultaneously into abandoned car plants and new overseas facilities while it finalises one of Europe’s most closely watched dual listings.
At the heart of the production push is a potential deal to take over the Mercedes-Benz factory in Ludwigsfelde, south of Berlin. Chief executive Jean-Paul Alary has been negotiating the acquisition, with plans to invest roughly €1bn in new assembly lines. Under the proposal, military vehicles and civilian transporters would be built side by side until Mercedes shifts production to Poland by 2030, allowing about 2,000 workers to switch employers. A decision is expected within weeks. Separately, KNDS is also exploring a possible tie-up with Volkswagen’s Osnabrück plant. A confirmed Ludwigsfelde acquisition would significantly strengthen the capacity story the company wants to tell investors ahead of its stock market debut.
That story is backed by some powerful numbers. Revenue jumped 15.9% in 2025 to €4.4bn, while earnings before interest and taxes climbed from €500m to €661m, pushing the EBIT margin to 15%. The ammunition division was the standout, with sales up 24.7%. Order intake hit a record €13.5bn last year, swelling the backlog from €23.5bn at the end of 2024 to €33.1bn. The group now supplies Leopard 2 tanks and Caesar howitzers to more than 40 armed forces worldwide.
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KNDS is already translating some of that demand into deliveries. In May, the first modernised PzH 2000 A4 howitzers rolled off the line for the Bundeswehr as part of a package that includes 123 Leopard 2 A8 tanks. The UK has ordered 72 remote-controlled RCH-155 howitzers on Boxer chassis for around ÂŁ1bn, with initial deliveries due in 2028. And a potential German order for up to 3,000 Boxer armoured vehicles remains on the horizon.
On the international front, KNDS opened its first overseas production site on 4 May 2026 in Levanger, Norway, together with local partner RITEK. The facility can manufacture up to 36 Leopard 2A8 tanks annually and features test tracks with steep slopes and a water basin. Norway is acquiring 54 of the tanks, 37 of which will be built locally; deliveries to the Norwegian army are scheduled to begin in 2027 and finish the following year.
The planned dual listing in Frankfurt and Paris is proceeding “fully on schedule,” according to the company, despite political wrangling behind the scenes. A consortium of banks — Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Société Générale — is preparing two scenarios: a launch in either June or July, with a fallback slot in autumn. The German government wants to buy a 40% stake at the IPO price but intends to reduce that holding to around 30% within two to three years. France also holds a 40% stake, and both sides plan to eventually trim their positions to about 30% each. The critical question for the market is how credible that reduction plan looks; a thin free float at listing would likely force investors to demand a discount, while a clear roadmap would allow KNDS to be valued as a normal industrial company.
The ownership picture is further complicated by the family behind the German side. The Wegmann family, which has been a long-standing shareholder, is expected to sell its stake, turning the IPO into a change of ownership as well as a capital markets event. Berlin has yet to finalise its conditions for the 40% acquisition, with ministries arguing over whether a strategic blocking minority of 30% under Dutch law is sufficient or whether parity with France’s share is politically necessary. A signal from the German government could arrive as early as this week.
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