OHB's Defining June: A €10 Billion Defense Win, a Stalled KKR Exit, and a High-Stakes Rocket Debut

German space and defence contractor OHB SE soars 239% YTD but faces selling pressure from KKR's failed stake sale; €10B JV and upcoming rocket launch offer long-term growth.

A stock that has surged nearly 239% since January should be a trader’s dream. For OHB SE, the past 30 days have been anything but straightforward. The German space and defence contractor is navigating a dense cluster of catalysts: a freshly minted €10 billion joint venture with Rheinmetall for military satellite communications, a failed share placement by private equity giant KKR, and the maiden flight of its subsidiary’s rocket – all while the stock sits roughly 40% below its May record.

The most consequential of these events is the creation of OHB Rheinmetall Space Networks GmbH, formally entered into the Bremen commercial register on 11 June 2026 after antitrust clearance from the Bundeskartellamt in mid-April. The joint venture will develop, integrate, and operate SATCOMBw Stufe 4, a protected communication architecture for the German armed forces that links soldiers, vehicles, and unmanned platforms with real-time voice and data across all command levels. The German defence ministry has earmarked €35 billion for space-related defence projects through 2030, with SATCOMBw Stufe 4 alone carrying a potential volume of up to €10 billion. The JV is run by Dennis Winkelmann, a 25-year space veteran with 19 years at OHB, and Alexander Beyer, a former Bundeswehr officer who previously handled satellite communications at Rheinmetall. Bremen’s mayor, Andreas Bovenschulte, described the city as the “control centre for naval and space defence.”

Operationally, the company is firing on multiple cylinders. First-quarter total output rose 15% to €279.3 million, while adjusted EBIT jumped 63% to €16.8 million. The order book hit a record €3.35 billion at the end of March, a 45% increase from the prior year, spurred by the Space Systems segment’s €2.68 billion backlog. Management has set a full-year 2026 target of €1.4 billion in total output, with ambitions to reach €1.7 billion in 2027 and more than €2.0 billion in 2028 – each year aiming for an EBITDA margin of 11%.

That growth narrative is clouded, however, by a messy overhang at the shareholder level. Financial investor KKR, which holds roughly 28.6% of OHB, tried to place 20% of its stake on 12 June but the transaction collapsed, forcing a postponement. The deadline for the multibillion-euro deal runs until the end of June, keeping the stock hostage to selling pressure. The shares closed Friday at €408.00, just off the current level of €411.50, and remain well below the 52-week high of €688.00. The free float is a razor-thin 5.7% – the Fuchs family owns about 65% – and the annualised 30-day volatility of 149% means small trading volumes can whip the price violently. A higher free float would be beneficial in the long term, but the immediate overhang is palpable.

Adding to the drama is the upcoming maiden flight of RFA ONE, the rocket developed by OHB subsidiary Rocket Factory Augsburg. The company has requested a launch window starting 1 July from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, with the rocket set to carry seven satellites into orbit. Management is deliberately tempering expectations: historically, more than 70% of first launches fail. A successful lift-off would be a massive surprise and would significantly strengthen OHB’s position in the “access to space” market, but delays are the norm rather than the exception.

Amid the noise, OHB continues to rack up smaller wins. At the ILA Berlin air show, its Italian subsidiary secured a development contract for the ESA mission RAMSES, which aims to study the asteroid Apophis in 2029. The European Space Agency had already awarded OHB a prime contract worth around €81 million for the same mission back in February.

For investors, the interplay between a €10 billion government programme, a forced KKR exit, and a high-risk rocket launch creates a rare convergence of events. The stock’s rollercoaster trajectory reflects the tension between a rock-solid long-term order book and near-term uncertainty around ownership structure. June will determine whether that tension resolves into a new chapter – or a sharper correction.