Germany plans to acquire a 40% stake in the manufacturer of Leopard tanks — Handelsblatt

The German government plans to acquire a 40% stake in the defense contractor KNDS, the manufacturer of Leopard tanks.

This was reported by Handelsblatt.

According to the publication, the CDU/CSU and SPD coalition reached this decision after several weeks of negotiations.

With this move, Berlin aims to gain the same political and operational influence over the company that France already has.

The value of the deal will be determined based on the valuation of the shares during KNDS’s planned initial public offering (IPO) this year. The company, headquartered in Amsterdam, plans to list up to 20% of its shares on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Paris. The group’s market valuation could range from 18 to 20 billion euros.

Currently, the French government and the German Wegmann Group each own 50% of KNDS, but the German co-owners plan to sell their stake.

According to media reports, the deal could be carried out through the state-owned bank KfW, and management of the stake will be coordinated by the German Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Defense.

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