Berlin and Paris Secure 40% Each in KNDS as Dual-Listing Plans Harden and Belgian Ammo Line Goes Live

Berlin and Paris each hold 40% in KNDS IPO, clearing path for dual listing in 2026. Revenue up 15.9% to €4.4bn, backlog at €33.1bn, new automated shell line.

Berlin and Paris have struck a deal that clears one of the final hurdles to KNDS’s long-awaited stock market debut, agreeing to each hold 40 percent of the Franco-German defence giant’s shares at the time of its initial public offering. The compromise, which locks in equal influence for both governments, comes as the company simultaneously fires up a new automated production line for 155-mm artillery shells in Belgium — a signal to investors that operational capacity is keeping pace with a record order book. The stakes are slated to fall to around 30 percent within two to three years after the listing, a gradual unwinding that preserves the current balance of control.

The February 2026 agreement saw Germany’s defence ministry push for a larger blocking minority than the government had originally wanted, ensuring Berlin retains strategic sway over sensitive military technologies. With the ownership question resolved, KNDS is pushing ahead with a dual listing in Frankfurt and Paris, targeted for the summer of 2026. The move is designed to broaden its capital base for investment in production capacity and innovation, with the company’s board chairman Tom Enders underscoring the need for deeper European industrial integration. Reports of a possible delay into autumn have been dismissed by management, which insists the timetable remains on track.

That conviction is backed by robust financials for the 2025 financial year. Group revenue rose 15.9 percent to €4.4 billion, driven by a surge in demand for heavy weapon systems and ammunition from European NATO allies. Operating profit climbed to €661 million, up sharply from €500 million in 2024, lifting the EBIT margin to 15.0 percent from 13.2 percent a year earlier. The munitions division posted the fastest growth, with sales jumping 24.7 percent to €612 million. Within the group, Land Systems Germany contributed €2.5 billion (up 17.4 percent) and Land Systems France €1.3 billion (up 9.6 percent).

The factory expansion in Belgium directly addresses the biggest question hanging over the IPO: can KNDS scale up fast enough to meet demand without sacrificing profitability? The new fully automated line for 155-mm shells will help serve a wave of orders from European armed forces scrambling to replenish artillery stocks, air defence systems and counter-drone capabilities. The company’s order intake hit €13.5 billion in 2025, pushing the total backlog to €33.1 billion at year-end, compared with €23.5 billion a year earlier. That backlog includes more than 500 additional combat and support vehicles ordered during the year — 222 BOXER RCT 30 infantry fighting vehicles, 84 RCH 155 wheeled howitzers and a further 200 PUMA vehicles.

KNDS has been hiring aggressively to support the ramp-up, expanding its workforce by 7.3 percent to around 11,000 employees by the end of 2025, with further recruitment planned for 2026. Chief executive Jean-Paul Alary has emphasised a strategy of tying weapons platforms directly to compatible ammunition systems, a focus that has strengthened the order pipeline. The company also rebuffed a takeover approach from the Czech Czechoslovak Group (CSG), as both governments insisted on keeping the ownership structure firmly in state and family hands.

The tailwind from wider defence spending is unmistakable. NATO reported in March 2026 that European allies and Canada raised their defence outlays by 20 percent in 2025 compared with the prior year, while the alliance’s 2025 summit in The Hague committed members to spending five percent of GDP annually on core defence and security needs by 2035. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) added in April 2026 that global military expenditure continued rising, with Europe posting a 14 percent increase to $864 billion. Land systems, ammunition, armoured vehicles and artillery — precisely the segments KNDS dominates — stand at the centre of that spending wave.

With a valuation estimated at roughly €20 billion, KNDS is shaping up to be one of the year’s most closely watched listings. The company’s ability to sustain its margin improvement while scaling up production lines will be the key metric for prospective investors. The order book is secured; the question now is whether the supply chain can keep up. For now, the dual listing — and the Belgian ammunition line — suggest management is betting that it can.