OHB Plans Capital Increase of Over 500 Million Euros and Approaches a Re-IPO

According to the company, the planned transaction is specifically aimed at investors who want to support Europe's strategic independence in space. "The planned transaction will enable us to advance our growth together with existing and new investors who want to be part of Europe's strategic independence in space," Fuchs stated according to the release. At the same time, he emphasized the company's longstanding role: "Europe is investing heavily in independent space capabilities, and we have been at the center of this development for over four decades."

According to Fuchs, the fresh funds are to flow into the expansion of production, investments in launch vehicles and facilities, as well as potential acquisitions. OHB hopes, according to its own statements, to benefit from the current boom in the space industry on the capital markets, which was triggered, among other things, by the IPO of the U.S. satellite company SpaceX. OHB specializes, according to its own statements, in satellite systems, human spaceflight, and space infrastructure.

Planned KKR Exit and Rising Free Float

In parallel with the capital increase, financial investor KKR plans, according to an insider, to place its own shares worth a further approximately 500 million euros on the market. KKR had only entered OHB two years ago with 338 million euros and currently holds just under 29 percent of the shares. Its stake has since reached a value of around 2.3 billion euros following the strong share price increase. KKR reportedly wants to divest less than half of its stake. Fuchs commented on this with the words: "They are not going to walk away and sell everything."

The Fuchs family, which most recently held around 65.4 percent of OHB's shares, will retain the majority even after the placement, according to the company. Major shareholder family Fuchs and KKR do not intend to exercise their subscription rights; the new shares to which they are entitled are to be placed on the market instead. Fuchs explained that his sister would also not sell a single share: "My family, including my sister, will not sell a single share."

Market Reaction and Outlook for the Indices

Through the combination of the capital increase and the KKR placement, the free float could more than triple from its current level of just around six percent, according to an insider's assessment. Fuchs said the free float would "in any case be significantly higher than the current approximately six percent." The company hopes to remain listed in the SDAX and potentially move up to the TecDAX: "The SDAX is essentially safe for us, and so is the TecDAX," said the manager. Observers therefore view the transaction as a de facto second listing, a so-called re-IPO.

The news was initially poorly received on the stock market: OHB's share lost around ten percent in an initial reaction on Monday. Later in the session, the stock was trading around 3.6 percent down at 393.50 euros. The price is thus still well above its level at the beginning of the year – the share has gained just under 240 percent in value since the start of the year – but is far from its recent record high of 688 euros.

Over the past 45 years, OHB has developed from a Bremen-based repair workshop for hydraulic ship systems into a leading German space and technology group. With its roughly 4,000 employees, the company is involved in key European programs, including the Galileo navigation system, the Bundeswehr's "SARah" radar reconnaissance satellite system, and the planned "LISA" gravitational wave observatory. The placement of new shares also increases the free float of the company, which first went public in 2001.

Regarding potential investors, Fuchs was reserved but open. He considers institutional investors to be the most likely buyers of the new shares. He ruled out an entry by the German government: "We are not asking them, and the government has never signaled any interest." The company wants to remain capable of acting and prepare for intensifying competition: "We are preparing to be able to act." The valuation of the company and trading have gone well, which has strengthened confidence in the move: "The valuation was good, the trading was good. That strengthened our confidence to go ahead with this."