KNDS Adds Fourth Machining Line for Roanne Factory as Board Gears Up for IPO Go-Ahead

KNDS expands production at Roanne with new V-STAR system, while board meets to finalize dual IPO in Frankfurt and Paris, aiming for €18-20bn valuation.

KNDS is pushing ahead with a new production investment at its Roanne plant in eastern France even as the defence group’s board meets today in Frankfurt and Paris to lock in the timetable for a dual listing that could become one of Europe’s largest initial public offerings of 2026.

The company signed a contract with Fives Machining on the sidelines of the Eurosatory arms fair in Paris on 17 June for a fourth V-STAR flexible manufacturing system. The new line, slated to go live in 2027, will be integrated into the facility’s digital infrastructure, complete with asset-tracking software and material flow systems. Roanne produces structural components for armoured programmes including the Griffon vehicle, and the latest machine is designed to boost precision-machining capacity for aluminium parts while smoothing out production swings and stabilising delivery times.

The investment underscores the pressure on KNDS to scale up quickly as European defence budgets swell. The company, which combines Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter, already supplies more than 40 armed forces worldwide. Its presence at Eurosatory this week highlights not just the factory-floor expansion but also a strategic pivot toward networked weapons systems.

That broader transformation is unfolding against a pivotal corporate event. The board’s meeting today is expected to settle the final timeline for a dual listing on the Frankfurt and Paris exchanges. Success this week would kick off the IPO process proper. Analysts have pencilled a valuation range of €18bn to €20bn for the group, which aims to raise as much as €5bn in fresh equity to fund production growth and new technologies.

The deal’s centrepiece is a planned 40% stake for the German government, matching France’s existing holding. That, however, has triggered a dispute: Berlin wants to pay the IPO price, while German family shareholders are demanding a premium. The board session is meant to resolve the deadlock. Additional conditions imposed by the Bundestag include a “German Eyes Only” safeguard for sensitive technologies and guarantees that critical industrial capacity remains inside Germany.

KNDS’s financial momentum is hard to ignore. Revenue reached €4.4bn in 2025, up nearly 16% from the prior year, while the order backlog swelled to a record €33.1bn after a stunning €13.5bn in new orders. CEO Jean-Paul Alary has described the current phase as a “new chapter” and is even exploring whether automotive plants could be converted to build the Leopard 2 tank or the Caesar howitzer.

Alongside the Roanne contract, KNDS used the Eurosatory stage to unveil a string of next-generation systems. These include the CAPINT battle tank concept, the LORAS artillery system, the TARGAS anti-drone system, and the MARS 3 rocket launcher with a range of up to 300 kilometres. A modular drone launch container, developed jointly with TYTAN Technologies and Helsing, also made its debut.

For investors, the calculus is more nuanced. The broader defence stock rally has cooled, though analysts see long-term demand underpinned by rising NATO budgets. Whether the IPO flies depends on whether the market can trust the complex Franco-German corporate structure — and whether KNDS can actually work through a €33bn order book that is as much a challenge as it is a prize. Today’s board meeting will be the first genuine test of that credibility.