FRANKFURT (Realist English). The Franco-German defense conglomerate KNDS (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann + Nexter), manufacturer of Leopard 2 tanks and Caesar self-propelled howitzers, is going public.
The company is expected to be valued at €18–20 billion, with listings on the Frankfurt and Paris exchanges scheduled for June–July 2026.
The main beneficiaries of the offering are the German family clans Bode and Braunbehrens, descendants of the founders of Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW). They own 50% of KNDS and intend to fully exit the company through the IPO.
“A potential KNDS IPO worth €20 billion is poised to create a new generation of billionaires,” analysts note.
Dual listing and political compromise
The offering will take place simultaneously in Frankfurt and Paris. However, it is difficult to call it a classic IPO: the German government has already agreed to acquire 40% of the shares through the state-owned bank KfW for €8 billion, matching France’s stake. Both countries plan to reduce their holdings to 30% over two to three years.
Thus, immediately after the IPO, 80% of KNDS will be under state control, with only 20% available on the open market. At the same time, Germany and France will retain equal voting rights regardless of the size of their stakes.
KNDS as a strategic asset
Berlin’s decision to take a stake in KNDS is driven by geopolitics. Against the backdrop of cooling relations with the US under Donald Trump, Europe is accelerating its rearmament. KNDS is a key manufacturer of main battle tanks for the continent: Leopard 2, Leclerc XLR, Boxer armored personnel carriers, PzH 2000 and Caesar self-propelled howitzers.
The company’s order backlog covers production for six years ahead. The Bundeswehr alone has ordered 198 Leopard 2 tanks by 2030. In 2024, KNDS generated revenue of €3.8 billion, up 16% from the previous year.
Family business with 200-year history
The Wegmann, Bode and Braunbehrens clans have controlled the company since the founding of KMW. The decision to exit the capital is the result of years of evolution: in 2015, KMW merged with France’s Nexter to create KNDS. Now, 11 years later, the heirs are preparing to “retire” with billion-dollar fortunes.
Preliminary dividend and audit complications
Ahead of the IPO, KNDS’s board of directors is discussing the payment of a special dividend of up to €2 billion — which would go to the French state and the Wegmann family.
However, the road to the stock exchange is not without obstacles: the audit for the 2025 financial year is delayed due to an internal investigation into commission payments on a contract in Qatar. If PwC does not complete the review in time, the IPO could be postponed until September 2026.
Czech precedent
The KNDS case echoes the story of Michal Strnad, a 33-year-old Czech entrepreneur. On January 23, 2026, his Czechoslovak Group (CSG) held an IPO on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange — the largest in the history of the defense sector, raising €3.8 billion. On the first day of trading, shares rose by 31%. Strnad’s net worth is estimated at $37 billion.
Meanwhile, 76% of CSG’s revenue comes from the European market, and 26% from supplies to Ukraine. KNDS itself, by the way, was forced to transfer part of its production to CSG to meet urgent orders.
Outlook
The German government’s decision to take a stake in KNDS is an unprecedented step — effectively nationalization through an IPO. For the family clans, it is an opportunity to monetize an asset built over generations. For Europe, it is a signal that the defense industry is entering a new phase: private capital is giving way to state control in strategic sectors.