At the Launch Pad: OHB’s Busy Summer Features a Rocketship, a Buyout, and a Billion-Euro War Chest

OHB SE shares surge 236% as three catalysts converge: RFA rocket debut, KKR stake reduction, and €10B military satellite JV with Rheinmetall.

OHB SE finds itself at the intersection of three high-stakes events that could each independently move the stock. The Bremen-based space and defence group’s shares closed at €409.00 on Friday, having surged 236% since the start of the year. But the real fireworks are concentrated in the coming weeks: a long-awaited rocket debut, a major shareholder’s exit, and the formal launch of a joint venture that targets up to €10 billion in military satellite contracts.

A Military Alliance Takes Off

On 11 June, OHB and Rheinmetall registered their joint venture, OHB Rheinmetall Space Networks GmbH, in the commercial register. The entity is built around SATCOMBw, a programme to create a protected communications architecture for the German armed forces. The potential order volume for this project alone runs to €10 billion. The defence ministry has earmarked additional billions for space-related initiatives, making the joint venture the biggest near-term driver for OHB’s core business.

The group’s existing order book already supports the bullish narrative. At the end of March, the backlog stood at a record €3.35 billion, while adjusted operating profit jumped 63% in the first quarter. To fund the serial production that these orders require, the board has secured authorisation to issue convertible bonds, warrants and profit participation rights worth up to €1.2 billion until 2031. The conditional capital allows a 20% expansion in share capital, a potential dilution that existing shareholders will monitor closely.

A Headline-Grabbing Rocket Debut

The most visible catalyst arrives on 1 July, when OHB’s rocket subsidiary, Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), plans the maiden flight of its RFA ONE launcher. A launch window has been requested for that date, with seven satellites on board. A final hot-fire test on the Shetland Islands still needs to go smoothly. The company itself cautions against excessive optimism: historically, first flights of new launch systems succeed less than 30% of the time, making failure the statistical favourite.

For the parent, the financial risk is contained. OHB accounts for its stake in RFA using the equity method, so the start-up’s revenues do not flow directly into OHB’s top-line forecast. RFA remains a pure upside option.

KKR’s Exit and the Liquidity Shift

A more structural change is unfolding on the shareholder register. The private equity firm KKR, which owns about 29% of OHB, intends to reduce its stake to a single-digit percentage by 30 June. The placement, originally scheduled for mid-June, slipped by roughly two weeks because the concurrent IPO of SpaceX has been soaking up institutional investor attention.

Once completed, free float will jump from around 6% to roughly 26%. That kind of liquidity injection could open the door to index inclusion and larger fund positions, fundamentally altering the stock’s trading dynamics. Until now, the tight float has amplified price swings: the 30-day annualised volatility stands at nearly 150%, and the trading range over recent weeks has been a staggering 148%.

Board Renewal and Steady Dividend

At the annual general meeting on 8 June, shareholders elected Dr Theodor Weimer, former CEO of Deutsche Börse AG, to the supervisory board for a three-year term. He succeeds Claire Wellby, and analysts see the appointment as a signal of OHB’s growing international ambitions. The dividend was kept unchanged at €0.60 per share, and all agenda items passed with large majorities.

The stock remains about 40% below its May all-time high, but the convergence of a €10 billion defence venture, a high-risk rocket launch, and a transformative buyout exit leaves OHB facing one of the most eventful months in its recent history. The next fortnight will determine how these pieces come together — and whether the market’s enthusiasm is rewarded.