JPMorgan Hired as KfW Moves to Secure German Influence at KNDS

Germany plans a 25.1% KNDS stake via KfW to retain influence as the tank maker targets a €20-25B dual listing in Frankfurt and Paris by mid-2026.

The German state is preparing to lock in a blocking minority at tank maker KNDS ahead of its planned dual listing in Frankfurt and Paris. State-owned development bank KfW has retained JPMorgan to explore acquiring a stake of at least 25.1 percent, ensuring Berlin retains a strategic voice in the company that builds Leopard tanks and Boxer armored vehicles.

The move addresses a looming governance gap. The Bode-Wegmann family, which currently holds 50 percent of KNDS, intends to reduce its stake during the initial public offering. Without state intervention, German influence over the Franco-German joint venture would shrink significantly, leaving Paris as the sole government shareholder.

KNDS is targeting a mid-2026 debut on both exchanges, with bankers valuing the group at between €20 billion and €25 billion. The free float is expected to account for roughly 20 to 25 percent of the shares. Alongside the sale of existing stakes, the company plans to raise fresh capital to expand production capacity and invest in new technologies.

The order book provides ample justification for such ambitions. At the close of fiscal 2024, KNDS reported a backlog of approximately €23.5 billion, having generated €3.8 billion in revenue for the full year. Management aims to double production capacity to meet surging European defense demand.

Before the listing, current owners — the French state and the Wegmann family — are discussing a special dividend of between €1 billion and €2 billion.

New Faces, New Structure

KNDS has been reshaping its management and corporate structure for life as a public company. Christian Schulz, formerly chief financial officer of transmission specialist Renk, joined the board at the start of 2026 to lead the IPO process. KNDS itself holds a 15.84 percent stake in Renk.

The industrial portfolio is also expanding. Texelis Defense was rebranded as KNDS Mobility on April 1, 2026. Late last month, the group formed a joint venture with Israel’s Elbit Systems called EuroPULS GmbH, targeting growing European demand for rocket artillery.

Pushing Beyond Tanks

Ahead of the IPO, KNDS is working to shed its image as a pure-play tank manufacturer. At a defense exhibition in Malaysia, the company unveiled a new communications system for unmanned platforms called Phorio. The system, based on software-defined radio technology, can be upgraded through simple software updates without touching the hardware.

The French defense ministry has already placed initial orders for Phorio, though a large national framework agreement has yet to materialize. KNDS is no newcomer to robotics — it has delivered more than 1,000 ground robots to 40 countries over the past decade, with the Asia-Pacific region emerging as a particularly fast-growing market. A company spokesperson expects the adoption of such systems to accelerate sharply as modern militaries focus on troop protection and last-mile logistics.

Timing and Execution

CEO Jean-Paul Alary has made clear that the IPO timetable does not hinge on progress with the Main Ground Combat System (MGCS), the joint European battle tank project. Instead, KNDS is betting on organic growth in land combat systems and plans to present its case to the capital markets by summer 2026. Industry events in June or July are seen as likely launch windows.

A banking consortium comprising Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Société Générale is preparing the dual listing. Analysts view the KfW entry as a potential solution to long-simmering governance tensions between the French and German shareholder groups. A German state reference shareholder could help defuse that friction, providing stability as the company transitions to public ownership.