OHB’s Four-Week Crucible: RFA One, AGM, and a €1.2 Billion Funding Plan Collide

OHB stock plunges 27% weekly as the space group navigates crucial events: an AGM vote on €1.2B bonds, RFA One's high-stakes launch, and KKR's €1B share placement.

The weeks ahead will test more than OHB’s engineering. The Bremen-based space group is facing a tight sequence of corporate and operational milestones — an annual general meeting, a major air show, and the maiden flight of its RFA One rocket — all while a pending share placement from private equity heavyweight KKR hangs in the balance. The stock fell 6.57% on Thursday to €348.50, pushing its weekly decline to 27.4%, even as year-to-date gains still stand at 186.83%.

AGM brings a €1.2 billion authorization to the table

On June 8, shareholders will vote on a proposal that could reshape OHB’s financing capacity for years. The board is seeking authority to issue convertible or warrant-linked bonds, along with profit participation rights, worth up to €1.2 billion in total nominal value, valid through 2031. To backstop the instruments, a new “Conditional Capital 2026/I” would enable the creation of up to 3.84 million new shares — representing a potential dilution of roughly 20%.

The rationale is clear: OHB’s order backlog has swelled to €3.354 billion, and large space projects demand significant upfront outlays. The authorization, if granted, would give management the firepower to fund expansion without over-relying on bank debt.

RFA One: a high-stakes first flight

Purely from a technological standpoint, the most consequential date is July 1, when Rocket Factory Augsburg — an OHB subsidiary consolidated at equity — has requested a launch window for the RFA One’s inaugural test flight. The rocket is designed to carry payloads of up to 1,300 kilograms, and this mission would deploy seven satellites.

Past hardware setbacks underscore the risks. A hot-fire test incident forced RFA to spend roughly 18 months reworking the Helix engine, tank pressurization systems, and ground procedures. OHB itself warns that first flights of new launch systems historically succeed less than 30% of the time. A successful mission, however, would elevate OHB’s profile in the “access to space” segment and reduce its reliance on third-party rockets for small-satellite deliveries.

KKR’s exit drifts into the same window

The private equity investor holds around 29% of OHB and intends to sell about 20 percentage points, while the founding Fuchs family would retain 65% of the voting rights. Completing the transaction by June 30 would boost the free float from roughly 6% to about 26%, a major improvement in tradability.

The deal’s timing is complicated by the anticipated SpaceX IPO in the United States, expected in mid-June, which could absorb market attention and underwriting capacity. The KKR block alone is valued at over €1 billion, making it one of the largest secondary placements in the European space sector.

ILA Berlin: more than a photo opportunity

Between the AGM and the rocket launch, OHB will exhibit at the ILA Berlin air show from June 10 to 14, sharing the floor with Airbus, ArianeGroup, and the German Aerospace Center. Management plans to unveil new mission contracts there. In an industry where political budgets, ESA programs, and industrial partnerships are tightly interwoven, such events can generate concrete order wins.

Operational momentum provides a floor

The first quarter of 2026 showed that the underlying business is on solid ground. Group revenue climbed 15.2% year on year to €279.3 million. Unadjusted EBITDA rose 48% to €25.7 million, while adjusted EBITDA came in at €27.3 million. Net profit more than tripled to €9.9 million, compared with €3.7 million in the prior-year period.

Space Systems, the largest segment, contributed the bulk of the €2.68 billion order backlog, fueled by ESA programs and rising EU defense budgets. Management’s medium-term targets remain intact: total revenue of €1.4 billion in 2026, €1.7 billion in 2027, and more than €2.0 billion in 2028, with an EBITDA margin target of 11%.

Volatility as a structural feature

Despite the strong operating numbers, the stock remains a hostage to thin liquidity. Only 5.7% of the 19.15 million shares are in free float, and the recent sell-off was triggered by trades involving as few as 800 shares. The 30-day annualized volatility stands at roughly 138%, meaning single orders can leave outsized marks on the price.

The stock now sits 49.35% below its 52-week high of €688, illustrating the speed of the correction after a rally that more than tripled the share price earlier this year. The next fixed points — the AGM, ILA, and the RFA One launch window — will determine whether OHB’s operational trajectory can keep pace with the drama unfolding on the capital markets.