Tank maker KNDS plans stock market listing, Germany to buy 40% stake

PARIS — French-German tank builder KNDS plans to list its shares on the Paris and Frankfurt stock markets in an operation that will see existing shareholders selling about 20% of the company to institutional investors and Germany buying a 40% share.

The two holding companies that currently control KNDS, French state-owned Giat Industries and German family-owned Wegmann & Co, will together sell about 20% of the company, KNDS said in a statement on Wednesday. The Federal Republic of Germany agreed with Wegmann to buy 40% of the maker of armored vehicles, while France will hang on to the remainder of its stake through Giat.

France and Germany reached agreement on Monday on becoming equal shareholders in KNDS, paving the way for the company to forge ahead with plans for a stock-market listing announced in December. The operation also allows the group of German heirs that collectively own half of the company to cash out, after a surge in defense stocks following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

“The planned IPO is a natural next step for KNDS,” CEO Jean-Paul Alary said in a statement. “It will increase our strategic agility and support continued investment in capacity, innovation and next-generation technologies.”

As share prices for listed defense companies have surged in recent years amid rising defense investment, Europe has seen a string of initial public offerings, including German tank-transmission maker Renk and French night-vision maker Exosens in 2024, German shipbuilder TKMS in 2025 and arms maker Czechoslovak Group, or CSG, in January this year.

The STOXX Europe Targeted Defence Index , which is weighted for the portion of sales its constituent companies get from defense, has climbed sixfold in the past five years.

KNDS says it targets revenue growth of around 30% in 2026, after posting sales of €4.4 billion (US$ 5 billion) and operating profit of €661 million in 2025. The company reported a record order backlog of €33.1 billion at the end of December.

The Federal Republic of Germany plans to buy its stake in KNDS via an acquisition by the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, with the transaction to be finalized ahead of the stock-market listing, according to the company. The German investment remains subject to a number of conditions, including a special federal mandate following approval by the parliamentary Budget Committee, KNDS said.

“Germany’s intention to invest alongside the French State is a strong signal of confidence in KNDS and its future,” KNDS Chairman Tom Enders said in the statement.

The existing shareholders will sell about 20% of KNDS to institutional investors through private placements, with no public offering planned. The listing won’t include the sale of any new shares, Alary told Defense News at the Eurosatory defense show outside Paris last week.

Giat and Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau will remain long-term shareholders, with a 10-year lockup period expected to apply to both owners, according to KNDS. During that period, a sale of KNDS shares that would result in the stake of either the French or German investment vehicles falling below 30% would require prior approval of the other party.

The transaction is also expected to introduce a loyalty share plan, where shares that are held by registered owners for two years are granted double voting rights.

KNDS is a strategic asset for both France and Germany as the supplier of both countries’ main battle tanks and self-propelled artillery, and with a lead role in development of the future Main Ground Combat System designed to replace France’s Leclerc tanks and Germany’s Leopard.

The company at Eurosatory showed a proposed a main battle tank with a French turret and gun mounted on a German Leopard 2 chassis as an intermediate solution to replace the Leclerc, which is expected to reach the end of its service life before a next-generation tank arrives.

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——法德合资坦克制造商KNDS计划在巴黎和法兰克福证券交易所上市，此次上市将使现有股东向机构投资者出售公司约20%的股份，而德国将购买40%的股份。

KNDS周三在一份声明中表示，目前控制该公司的两家控股公司——法国国有企业Giat Industries和德国家族企业Wegmann & Co——将共同出售该公司约20%的股份。德意志联邦共和国已与Wegmann达成协议，收购这家装甲车制造商40%的股份，而法国将通过Giat继续持有剩余股份。

法国和德国周一达成协议，将成为KNDS公司的平等股东，为该公司推进去年12月宣布的上市计划铺平了道路。此次交易也使得持有该公司一半股份的德国继承人集团得以套现，此前，由于俄罗斯2022年入侵乌克兰，国防股价格飙升。

“计划中的IPO是KNDS发展的必然之举，”首席执行官让-保罗·阿拉里在一份声明中表示。“这将提升我们的战略灵活性，并支持我们对产能、创新和下一代技术的持续投资。”

近年来，随着国防投资的增加，上市国防公司的股价飙升，欧洲出现了一系列首次公开募股，其中包括2024年上市的德国坦克变速器制造商Renk和法国夜视设备制造商Exosens，2025年上市的德国造船厂TKMS，以及今年1月上市的武器制造商捷克斯洛伐克集团（CSG）。

STOXX 欧洲定向防务指数（该指数根据其成分公司从国防领域获得的销售额占比进行加权）在过去五年中上涨了六倍。

KNDS表示，在2025年实现44亿欧元（50亿美元）的销售额和6.61亿欧元的营业利润后，其目标是在2026年实现约30%的营收增长。该公司报告称，截至12月底，其订单积压额创下331亿欧元的纪录。

据KNDS公司称，德意志联邦共和国计划通过德国复兴信贷银行（Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau）收购其持有的KNDS股份，该交易将在KNDS上市前完成。KNDS表示，这项德国投资仍需满足多项条件，包括在获得议会预算委员会批准后，获得联邦政府的特别授权。

KNDS董事长汤姆·恩德斯在声明中表示：“德国有意与法国政府共同投资，这强烈表明了德国对KNDS及其未来的信心。”

现有股东将通过私募方式向机构投资者出售KNDS约20%的股份，没有公开发行计划。阿拉里上周在巴黎郊外举行的欧洲防务展上告诉《防务新闻》，此次上市不会涉及任何新股的发行。

据KNDS称，Giat和德国复兴信贷银行（Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau）将继续持有KNDS股份，预计两家股东都将面临10年的锁定期。在此期间，若出售KNDS股份导致法国或德国投资机构的持股比例低于30%，则需事先获得另一方的批准。

此次交易预计还将推出忠诚度股份计划，注册股东持有两年以上的股份将获得双倍投票权。

KNDS是法国和德国的战略资产，是两国的主战坦克和自行火炮的供应商，并在未来主战坦克系统（旨在取代法国的勒克莱尔坦克和德国的豹式坦克）的研发中发挥着主导作用。

该公司在欧洲防务展上展示了一款拟议的主战坦克，该坦克采用法国炮塔和火炮，安装在德国豹2底盘上，作为替代勒克莱尔坦克的过渡方案。勒克莱尔坦克预计将在下一代坦克到来之前达到其服役寿命的终点。

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。