KNDS has built a record €33.1bn order backlog and forged two joint ventures with Israeli defence contractors, yet the Franco-German tank maker’s path to the public markets remains blocked by a single compliance question: the unresolved audit of a 2013 tank deal with Qatar worth €1.89bn.
The operational case for an IPO looks compelling. Revenue rose nearly 16% in 2025 to €4.4bn, and new orders hit €13.5bn, lifting the backlog from €23.5bn to €33.1bn. Growth has been broad: the Land Systems Germany segment climbed 17.4% to €2.5bn, the French division added 9.6% to €1.3bn, and the munitions arm surged 24.7% to €612m. New production lines in Belgium and the integration of the Görlitz plant have expanded capacity.
Yet the financial year 2025 accounts remain unsigned. Auditor PwC is refusing to approve the statements until it receives a final report from Freshfields, the law firm investigating the 2013 Qatar transaction. That contract covered 24 PzH 2000 howitzers, 62 Leopard 2 tanks and other equipment. KNDS has said the probe is “far advanced” and that the findings so far show no evidence of criminal misconduct by current or former employees, but the investigation is not formally concluded.
The dual listing in Frankfurt and Paris is still targeting a June or July 2026 window. If the audit stalemate drags on, September becomes the fallback. Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Société Générale are acting as joint bookrunners. The free float will be slim — around 20% — because Germany’s state-owned KfW will take a 40% stake, mirroring the French government’s existing holding. Berlin has committed to cutting its share to 30% within two to three years after the IPO, buying the stock at the issue price with no premium.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying KNDS?
Alongside the compliance wrangling, KNDS has been busy on the production front. In Levanger, Norway, a new assembly plant built in just 18 months with partner RITEK can turn out up to 36 Leopard 2A8NO tanks a year. The first two were handed over to the Norwegian army on April 30, with series production due to start in the autumn. The company is also in talks with struggling automakers about using their underused factories to speed up output of armoured vehicles, artillery and ammunition.
Two Israeli tie-ups deepen the industrial strategy. The first, EuroPULS, is a 50:50 joint venture with Elbit Systems based in Kassel. It will produce rocket artillery for European forces, combining Elbit’s combat-proven sensors and warheads with KNDS’s vehicle platforms. Germany plans to buy around 500 MARS-3 launchers (the EuroPULS designation) and has already placed an initial order for five systems, with delivery and qualification scheduled for 2027. The second venture, EuroTrophy, involves Rafael and General Dynamics European Land Systems. It will fit the Trophy active-protection system — which intercepts incoming anti-tank missiles — on roughly 200 vehicles, including Leopard 2A8s for Germany and Norway, with future expansion to Boxer and CV90 platforms.
All of this feeds into the “One KNDS” strategy of selling integrated system packages rather than individual components. But for investors, the question is not whether the IPO can happen, but what discount they will demand for the residual governance risk. The forthcoming prospectus must address that head-on. KNDS brings a record order book, rising European defence budgets and proven production ramp-up — yet it also carries state influence, a concentrated free float and an audit cloud that has already cost it the summer window. The dual listing will be a litmus test for whether the market is willing to finance the expansion of land systems and munitions while accepting the compliance overhang that comes with strategic weapons.
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