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.
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.
