DSW vs. the Rocket: OHB’s €1.2 Billion Capital Vote Meets KKR’s Exit Timeline

The countdown is on at OHB SE. By June 30, private equity giant KKR must offload roughly 20 percentage points of its 29% stake in the Bremen-based space company, and by June 8, shareholders will be asked to approve a capital authorization that could dilute existing investors by as much as one-fifth. The collision of these two events has laid a thick fog over the stock, which has already lost nearly half its value from a May peak.

At the heart of the June 8 annual general meeting is a proposal to grant management the power, until 2031, to issue convertible or warrant bonds and participation rights with a total face value of up to €1.2 billion. Accompanied by a conditional capital increase — dubbed 2026/I — that could expand the share base by up to 20%, the plan has drawn sharp criticism from the Deutsche Schutzvereinigung für Wertpapierbesitz (DSW). The shareholder protection group recommends voting against several agenda items, arguing that the blanket exclusion of subscription rights would structurally disadvantage existing owners and expose them to excessive dilution risk.

Yet the operational case for raising firepower is compelling. OHB reported first-quarter 2026 total output of €279.3 million, a 15% year-on-year surge, while its order backlog hit a record €3.354 billion. Adjusted EBITDA reached €27.3 million. Management sees the proposed financing flexibility as essential to capture the opportunities flowing from Europe’s booming space sector — a market that propelled OHB shares more than 200% from the start of the year to a 52-week high of €688 on May 21.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying OHB SE?

But the rally has since been gutted. The stock closed Friday at €372.50, down 9.15% on the day and 14.47% over the prior week, placing it 46% below that high. The 50-day moving average of €354.71 — roughly 5% beneath current levels — is viewed by chartists as the next key support. The annualized 30-day volatility of 142% underscores the extreme jitters gripping the stock.

The volatility is amplified by a second deadline: KKR must place its stake by June 30, with a previously scheduled transaction on June 12 having been postponed. Whether the financial investor sells to a strategic buyer — limiting market disruption — or opts for a broad secondary offering will determine the depth of the overhang effect. A large block sale typically commands a discount to the prevailing share price, and even without a discount, the sheer volume of stock flooding the market can keep the shares under pressure until fully absorbed.

For shareholders, the AGM vote is therefore a high-stakes gamble. Approving the capital authorization gives management ammunition to fund a record pipeline, but at the price of potential dilution. Rejecting it protects current ownership but may constrain growth. KKR’s own exit, meanwhile, is a separate force that could redefine OHB’s shareholder base regardless of what happens on June 8. The twin deadlines — one a ballot, the other a mandatory sale — will determine whether the stock finds a floor or continues its dizzying descent.

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