Defense Giant KNDS Postpones Initial Public Offering

The Franco-German defense conglomerate KNDS has postponed its initial public offering (IPO) until market conditions improve.

The company’s press office shared this with Militarnyi.

The company stated that it had completed nearly all the necessary preparatory steps for the planned IPO and had held extensive negotiations with investors.

However, given the current market volatility in the European defense sector, the process has been suspended.

This came after KNDS, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of armored vehicles and artillery, attempted to convince investors to support a company valuation of over EUR 12 billion, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC.

Last week, KNDS confirmed its intention to pursue a dual listing on the Paris and Frankfurt stock exchanges. The company planned to offer approximately 20% of its shares for sale. This volume was set to make it one of the largest IPOs in Europe in recent years.

Earlier, media reports indicated that the company’s valuation could reach EUR 25 billion.

In May, the Czech defense company Czechoslovak Group (CSG) made an offer to acquire a stake in the Franco-German conglomerate. The potential deal called for payment to be made entirely or predominantly in cash.

KNDS was formed about ten years ago through the merger of the German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and the French company Nexter. The group manufactures, among other things, Leopard 2 tanks and Caesar self-propelled artillery systems. The company is also one of the key suppliers of weapons to Ukraine.

Currently, KNDS is owned in equal shares by German shareholders and the French government, making any change to the ownership structure politically sensitive.

Paris and Berlin have a direct interest in controlling the company, its production capabilities, and the priorities of its defense programs.

As of December 31, 2025, KNDS has an order backlog of EUR 33.1 billion.