OHB’s Free Float Makeover: €500 Million Capital Raise and a Rocket Launch Define the Summer Agenda

OHB boosts free float from 6% to over 18% via €500M capital hike and KKR partial exit, aiming for SDAX/TecDAX inclusion; upcoming RFA ONE rocket launch adds catalyst.

OHB is rewriting its DNA. The Bremen-based space group has announced a €500 million capital increase that, combined with a partial exit by private equity backer KKR, is set to triple the company’s minuscule free float and potentially unlock index membership. At the same time, a long-awaited rocket debut off the coast of Scotland could provide the next visceral catalyst for a stock that has already soared more than 228% year-to-date.

The capital raising, announced on Monday, will see the issuance of new shares without participation from either the founding Fuchs family – which retains voting control with roughly 65% – or KKR, which holds just under 29%. By waiving their subscription rights, both majority shareholders ensure that approximately 94% of the new paper lands with outside investors. KKR will use the transaction to reduce its own holding, selling less than half of its existing stake. The net effect: a free float that currently hovers around 6% should climb well past 18%, potentially opening the door to the SDAX, TecDAX and, down the line, the MDAX.

The move is a calculated response to a structural problem that has made for one of the most volatile stocks in Germany. With barely six percent of shares freely tradable – KKR’s earlier plan to place roughly 20 percentage points of its holding was shelved earlier this year after the SpaceX IPO soaked up market attention – even small orders trigger outsized swings. Annualised volatility has hit 148%. The stock rocketed from a 52-week low of €64.20 to an extreme of €688 before settling back to around €399.50, still some 42% below its peak. The RSI now sits at a neutral 48.3, a pause before the next batch of triggers.

Operationally, management has plenty to point to as justification for the ambitious valuation. First-quarter revenue climbed 15% to €279.3 million, and the order backlog stands at a record €3.4 billion. The medium-term target is total output exceeding €4 billion, with an adjusted EBITDA margin of around 13%. A joint venture with Rheinmetall, formally registered in mid-June, puts OHB at the heart of a new satellite communications system for the Bundeswehr, a contract that could be worth up to €10 billion. The company is also expanding its footprint in Turin, Stockholm, Augsburg and its home base in Bremen.

For short-term triggers, all eyes are on the Scottish coast. Rocket Factory Augsburg – a subsidiary in which OHB holds an equity-accounted stake – has requested a launch window starting July 1 for the first test flight of its RFA ONE rocket. The company is careful to call the date provisional; maiden flights are notoriously tricky and, historically, fewer than 30% succeed on the first attempt. Because RFA is consolidated at equity, a successful launch would not feed directly into group guidance, but it would burnish OHB’s credentials in the fast-growing New Space segment.

The convergence of these timelines is striking. The capital increase is expected to close by the end of June, while the KKR sale – though no longer under the earlier June 2026 deadline – appears to be accelerating. The rocket window opens on July 1. Together, the two events could reshape both the share register and the narrative around OHB, lifting it out of the speculative shadows and into the mainstream of European defense and space. The half-year report on August 6 will then test whether the underlying momentum can justify a market capitalisation of nearly €8 billion.