OHB Ramps Up on Two Fronts: Asteroid Antenna Contract and €1 Billion Share Placement Reshape the Narrative

German space and defence group OHB secures Ramses mission antenna contract while planning $1B+ placement to widen free float; shares surge 4.53% after volatile week.

OHB is navigating a rare moment of dual momentum. The German space and defence group has secured a hardware contract for Europe’s Ramses asteroid mission while simultaneously preparing a blockbuster placement that would dramatically widen its tiny free float. The combination sent shares on a volatile ride, closing Thursday up 4.53% at €473 in XETRA trading after a week that saw the stock lose roughly a quarter of its value in three sessions.

The Ramses programme is shifting from paper to production. OHB Italia signed a deal with HPS GmbH on the sidelines of the SmallSat Conference in Amsterdam for the design and manufacture of the probe’s communications antenna. That step moves the project into its build phase, a milestone for a mission that will launch in 2028 and shadow the asteroid Apophis as it streaks past Earth on 13 April 2029. The European Space Agency awarded OHB Italia the €81.2 million prime contract in February 2026, so the new antenna order confirms that the mission remains on track.

Behind the scenes, a much larger financial manoeuvre is gathering pace. OHB plans to boost its free float from just 5.7% to around 20% through a placement worth more than $1 billion. The company has expanded its banking syndicate to include Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan as coordinators, with Berenberg and Commerzbank added to the roster. Reports on 25 May that the plan had been halted triggered a sharp sell-off, underlining how sensitive the stock is to any news flow around the placement. The family Fuchs owns roughly 65% of the shares, while private equity firm KKR holds about 29%, leaving only a sliver for public trading.

That scarcity explains the outsized price swings. Analysts point out that even modest buy or sell orders can move the stock dramatically. The wild intraday action earlier in the week — a double-digit gain that faded by the close — was a textbook example of the liquidity squeeze. The planned placement is designed to ease that bottleneck and bring in a broader investor base.

Operationally, the company’s fundamentals provide solid support for the narrative. The first quarter of 2026 delivered a 37% jump in adjusted EBITDA to €27.3 million and a 165% surge in net profit to €9.9 million, or €0.52 per share. The order book hit an all-time high of €3.35 billion at the end of March, 45% higher than a year earlier. Space Systems, the core segment, accounts for €2.68 billion of that total. OHB Italia alone reported a backlog of €412 million and annual revenue of €172 million, giving the group a market capitalisation of around €9.42 billion.

Additional catalysts are lining up. Subsidiary Rocket Factory Augsburg has applied for a launch window starting 1 July 2026 for the maiden flight of the RFA ONE rocket — a success would hand OHB its own launch capability, a key step toward vertical integration. Meanwhile, the company is exploring a partnership with Rheinmetall in tactical reconnaissance to tap rising demand for space-based surveillance. Germany has earmarked €35 billion for military space programmes, a pool OHB sees as its central growth driver alongside civilian missions such as Ramses.

All eyes now turn to the annual general meeting on 8 June 2026. Shareholders will vote on a dividend of €0.60 per share and consider fresh capital frameworks that lay the legal groundwork for the planned placement. For a company that commands a low free float and a high-stakes growth trajectory, the AGM could be the next inflection point.