Leopard 2 and Boxer Manufacturer: Germany Seeks to Acquire 50% Stake in KNDS

The German government is negotiating the purchase of a 50% stake in the Franco-German defense group KNDS, one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of armored vehicles.

Reuters reports this, citing a source familiar with the matter.

According to the source, German government officials are discussing the purchase of the stake directly from the German founding families, who currently own half of the company.

At the same time, the German side has decided to put plans for KNDS to go public on hold temporarily amid the negotiations.

KNDS

The KNDS (KMW+Nexter Defense Systems) group was formed in 2015 through the merger of German company Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and French state-owned company Nexter Systems.

The merger aimed to consolidate the European land defense market and create a single industrial giant to develop next-generation armored vehicles.

The German KMW share has historically been owned by the Bode and Wegmann families, while the French Nexter remains fully owned by France.

The German arm of the company is best known for the Leopard 2 main battle tank, which is in service with more than a dozen countries worldwide.

The French arm of the group is responsible for producing the Leclerc main battle tank and CAESAR self-propelled howitzers.

In addition to tanks, KNDS produces Boxer infantry fighting vehicles, VBCI wheeled armored vehicles, Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzers.

Earlier, the joint Franco-German program to develop the next-generation MGCS main battle tank failed after Germany withdrew from the project.

The industrial consortium included French company Thales, as well as KNDS France, KNDS Germany, and German defense group Rheinmetall.