KNDS, maker of Leopard battle tank, plans stock-market listing in 2026

PARIS — KNDS, the French-German maker of the Leopard 2 main battle tank and the Caesar wheeled howitzer, plans for a stock-market listing in 2026 in a move that the company says will help finance growth plans.

The board of directors decided to continue preparations for an initial public offering next year, subject to market conditions, KNDS said in a statement on Wednesday. The public listing will help long-term growth by expanding access to capital markets and allowing KNDS to invest in industrial capacity, technology and innovation, the Amsterdam-based company said.

Shares in Europe’s publicly traded defense companies have surged since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with the Stoxx Europe Targeted Defense index increasing fourfold in the past three years. That has benefited KNDS’s listed rivals including Rheinmetall, with a higher market capitalization facilitating debt financing, M&A deals and employee-incentive programs.

With the IPO project, “KNDS is determined to create a more agile and responsive structure to continue investing in technology, capacity and talent,” Chief Executive Officer Jean-Paul Alary said in the statement. “This project opens a new chapter in KNDS’s development as a unique European champion and global leader in land defense.”

KNDS said it appointed Christian Schulz, the former chief financial officer of tank-transmission maker Renk, to join the board of directors at the start of 2026, replacing Werner Frank. The company said Schulz will bring “valuable experience” from leading Renk’s stock listing in February 2024 and overhauling Renk’s financial structure.

KNDS was formed in 2015 though the combination of France’s Nexter Systems and Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, with the French and German owners both holding 50% of the combined company. The French and German parts of the KNDS business remain separate for now, manufacturing and selling their own portfolio of products.

The maker of tanks, artillery, armored personnel carriers and munitions reported 2024 revenue rose 17% to €3.8 billion, compared to Rheinmetall reporting defense sales rose 50% last year.

In terms of orders, the former Nexter business, with products including the Caesar howitzer and the Griffon six-wheeled armored personnel carrier, has fallen behind the former Krauss-Maffei Wegmann business, which manufactures the Leopard 2 MBT, the PzH 2000 howitzer and the Boxer eight-wheeled APC.

The order book for KNDS France stood at €8.6 billion at the end of 2024 from €5 billion two years earlier, while KNDS Deutschland increased the backlog to €14.9 billion from €6 billion over the same period, according to annual reports filed with Germany’s lobby register.

KNDS plans to list its shares in both Frankfurt and Paris, home to the European Union’s largest stock markets by market capitalization.

“I’m happy the board has decided, after intensive work, to prepare for an IPO,” Chairman Tom Enders said. “The time is right and the company is ready.”

Rudy Ruitenberg is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. He started his career at Bloomberg News and has experience reporting on technology, commodity markets and politics.

巴黎——生产豹2主战坦克和凯撒轮式榴弹炮的法德合资企业KNDS计划于2026年上市，该公司表示此举将有助于为其增长计划提供资金。

KNDS周三在一份声明中表示，董事会决定继续筹备明年的首次公开募股（IPO），具体安排将视市场情况而定。这家总部位于阿姆斯特丹的公司表示，上市将有助于公司长期发展，扩大其进入资本市场的渠道，并使KNDS能够投资于工业产能、技术和创新。

自俄罗斯2022年入侵乌克兰以来，欧洲上市国防公司的股价一路飙升，斯托克欧洲定向防务指数在过去三年里上涨了四倍。这使得KNDS的上市竞争对手，包括莱茵金属公司，受益匪浅，更高的市值有利于债务融资、并购交易和员工激励计划。

KNDS首席执行官让-保罗·阿拉里在声明中表示：“通过IPO项目，KNDS决心打造一个更加灵活高效的组织架构，以便继续投资于技术、产能和人才。该项目开启了KNDS发展的新篇章，使其成为欧洲独树一帜的陆地防御领军企业和全球领导者。”

KNDS宣布，已任命储罐传动设备制造商Renk的前首席财务官克里斯蒂安·舒尔茨(Christian Schulz)于2026年初加入董事会，接替沃纳·弗兰克(Werner Frank)的职位。该公司表示，舒尔茨在领导Renk于2024年2月上市以及重组Renk财务结构方面拥有“宝贵经验”，将为公司带来宝贵的经验。

KNDS成立于2015年，由法国的奈克斯特系统公司（Nexter Systems）和德国的克劳斯-玛菲·韦格曼公司（Krauss-Maffei Wegmann）合并而成，法德双方各持50%的股份。目前，KNDS的法国和德国业务仍各自独立运营，生产和销售各自的产品组合。

坦克、火炮、装甲运兵车和弹药制造商报告称，2024 年收入增长 17% 至 38 亿欧元，而莱茵金属公司报告称，去年国防销售额增长了 50%。

就订单而言，生产凯撒榴弹炮和狮鹫六轮装甲运兵车等产品的原奈克斯特公司已经落后于生产豹2主战坦克、PzH 2000榴弹炮和拳击手八轮装甲运兵车的原克劳斯-玛菲·韦格曼公司。

根据向德国游说登记处提交的年度报告，截至 2024 年底，KNDS 法国的订单总额为 86 亿欧元，而两年前为 50 亿欧元；同期，KNDS 德国的积压订单从 60 亿欧元增加到 149 亿欧元。

KNDS计划在法兰克福和巴黎上市，这两个城市是欧盟市值最大的证券交易所所在地。

“我很高兴董事会经过紧张的工作后决定为首次公开募股（IPO）做准备，”董事长汤姆·恩德斯表示。“时机成熟，公司也做好了准备。”

鲁迪·鲁伊滕贝格是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者。他的职业生涯始于彭博新闻社，拥有报道科技、大宗商品市场和政治方面的经验。