KNDS Halts IPO Plans Until European Market Conditions Improve
KNDS, the Franco-German maker of Leopard 2 and Leclerc tanks, has paused its KNDS IPO process, saying Wednesday it will resume preparations for a stock market listing when conditions improve. The announcement shelves what was shaping up to be one of Europe’s largest defence listings in recent years, targeting a dual listing on Euronext Paris and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The decision comes after investor pushback knocked the company’s expected valuation from as high as €25 billion earlier this year down to a range of €12 billion to €15 billion a drop of more than 30% before a single share had been publicly traded.
According to the Financial Times, some investors in preliminary discussions flagged valuations below the company’s floor of €12.5 billion, pushing KNDS and its advisers to conclude that sufficient demand could not be secured at the desired price.
The backdrop is deteriorating sentiment across European defence stocks
Rheinmetall shares have shed around 38% this year, worsening last week after Germany scrapped a major warship programme. The Stoxx Targeted Defence index is flat for 2026, erasing an earlier surge despite surging government commitments to rearmament across the continent.
Investor hesitance has also been fuelled by structural concerns about the deal itself. The planned listing would see only 20% of shares float publicly, with both the French and German governments each retaining 40% stakes subject to a decade-long lock-up leaving buyers with a thin slice of a company controlled by two sovereign states.
The fundamentals remain strong. KNDS posted €4.4 billion in revenue for 2025, up 16% year-on-year, and carries a record backlog of €33.1 billion. CEO Jean-Paul Alary says the company remains committed to going public, framing the IPO as a natural next step in building a European land defence champion just not yet.
