KNDS sees timing of potential stock-exchange listing for June 2026

CANJUERS, France — KNDS, the French-German maker of the Leopard tank and Caesar cannon, is mulling a stock market listing to facilitate growth and corporate partnerships, with a potential timing for the middle of next year, according to a company spokesperson.

An initial public offer is one of several options under consideration, with nothing decided for now, KNDS spokesman Gabriel Massoni told Defense News on a trip to the Canjuers military base in southern France on Monday. Still, if KNDS were to go ahead with a listing, it would be timed around the Eurosatory defense show this coming June, he said.

KNDS CEO Jean-Paul Alary said in September the company would decide in coming months whether to move forward with an IPO next year, according to multiple media reports. KNDS was created in 2015 through the combination of Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France’s Nexter, with the French government still holding 50% of the joint company.

“KNDS should no longer be seen as just a Franco-German group; it should be seen as one of the future leaders in land defense in Europe,” Massoni said. “ So this requires either a reorganization of the capital structure, or a cash injection such as an IPO would allow. It’s also a signal to bring in other potential partners.”

The decision to discuss the shareholder structure was made by the company and is not something France is pushing for, according to Massoni.

“ There is a desire to grow the group and signal the possibility of working with other partners,” Massoni said. “We almost did that with Leonardo.”

Negotiations between KNDS and Leonardo to create a European defense group fell through in June 2024, after the companies had agreed to a strategic alliance six months earlier.

Leonardo subsequently set up a joint venture with Germany’s Rheinmetall to manufacture combat vehicles for the Italian armed forces.

KNDS doesn’t plan any immediate merger and acquisition activity should the company change its capital structure, the spokesman said.

The company reported 2024 sales of €3.8 billion in 2024, rising from €3.25 billion a year earlier. By comparison, Rheinmetall reported combined sales for its vehicle systems and weapon and ammunition units of €6.57 billion last year from €4.37 billion in 2023.

While KNDS hasn’t published any profitability data for 2024, it reported operating profit of €408 million in 2023, according to the company annual report for that year.

Shares in TKMS, the German naval shipbuilder, started trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange for the first time on Monday, with the shares rising more than 30% in their opening debut.

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.

法国坎茹尔——据公司发言人称，生产豹式坦克和凯撒大炮的法德合资企业KNDS正在考虑上市，以促进增长和企业合作，上市时间可能在明年年中。

KNDS发言人加布里埃尔·马索尼周一在法国南部坎茹尔军事基地接受《防务新闻》采访时表示，首次公开募股（IPO）是正在考虑的几个方案之一，目前尚未做出任何决定。他还表示，如果KNDS最终决定上市，上市时间将安排在今年6月的欧洲防务展（Eurosatory）前后。

据多家媒体报道，KNDS首席执行官让-保罗·阿拉里(Jean-Paul Alary)在9月份表示，公司将在未来几个月内决定是否在明年进行首次公开​​募股(IPO)。KNDS成立于2015年，由德国克劳斯-玛菲·韦格曼(Krauss-Maffei Wegmann)和法国奈克斯特(Nexter)合并而成，法国政府目前仍持有合资公司50%的股份。

“KNDS不应再被视为一家法德合资企业；它应该被视为欧洲陆地防御领域的未来领导者之一，”马索尼说道。“因此，这需要进行资本结构重组，或者通过IPO等方式注入资金。这也是引入其他潜在合作伙伴的信号。”

据马索尼称，讨论股东结构的决定是公司自己做出的，并非法国方面在推动。

马索尼表示：“我们希望扩大团队规模，并释放与其他合作伙伴携手共进的可能性。我们之前几乎就和莱昂纳多公司达成了合作。”

KNDS 和 Leonardo 之间关于组建欧洲防务集团的谈判于 2024 年 6 月破裂，此前两家公司在六个月前达成了战略联盟。

随后，莱昂纳多与德国莱茵金属公司成立了一家合资企业，为意大利武装部队生产作战车辆。

发言人表示，即使公司改变资本结构，KNDS也没有立即进行任何并购活动的计划。

该公司公布2024年销售额为38亿欧元，高于上年的32.5亿欧元。相比之下，莱茵金属公司去年公布的车辆系统和武器弹药部门合计销售额为65.7亿欧元，高于2023年的43.7亿欧元。

虽然 KNDS 尚未公布 2024 年的盈利数据，但根据该公司当年的年度报告，其 2023 年的营业利润为 4.08 亿欧元。

德国海军造船企业 TKMS 的股票于周一在法兰克福证券交易所首次开始交易，首日股价上涨超过 30%。

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。