The planned IPO of KNDS could be imminent. According to a media report, the German owning families want to clear the way for a dual listing in Frankfurt and Paris.
The step onto the trading floor of the arms company KNDS is now apparently quickly approaching. The owner families have agreed to sell 40 percent of their shares to the German federal government, the Bloomberg news agency wrote on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal would value KNDS at between 15 and 18 billion euros and is expected to be formally announced later that day.
This would pave the way for an IPO in Frankfurt and Paris, which, according to the report, will then be announced on Tuesday. Representatives of KNDS, the owner family and the German Ministry of Economic Affairs declined to comment when asked by Bloomberg. Last week, the “Börsen Zeitung” reported that the schedule for the IPO was shaky because the federal government and the owner families could not agree on the purchase price.
KNDS is a manufacturer of weapon systems such as the Leopard 2 main battle tank and the self-propelled howitzer 2000. The company was formed in 2015 through the merger of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and the French company Nexter. KNDS is currently owned by the German owners Bode and Braunbehrens and the French government.
BERLIN (dpa-AFX)
