OHB’s AGM Week: Record Backlog Meets a €1.2 Billion Dilution Proposal and a Shareholder Exodus

When OHB SE executives gather for Monday’s annual general meeting, they will tout an order book that has swelled to a record €3.35 billion and the start of assembly work on a joint European-Japanese mission to the asteroid Apophis. Yet many investors will be far more focused on two looming threats: a plan that could dilute existing holdings by as much as a fifth, and the imminent departure of the company’s largest shareholder.

The AGM, to be held virtually on 8 June, includes a proposal to authorise the board to issue convertible or warrant bonds with a total nominal value of up to €1.2 billion. The resolution would permit the exclusion of subscription rights for current shareholders, opening the door to a dilution of up to 20% of OHB’s existing share capital. The German Association for the Protection of Securities Holders has recommended voting against several agenda items, describing the potential equity hit as direct damage to long-term owners.

Compounding that pressure is the planned exit of private equity firm KKR, which holds roughly 29% of OHB’s shares. KKR intends to sell about 20 percentage points of its stake by the end of June, a move that would boost the free float from a wafer‑thin 6% to around 26%. While greater tradability is a theoretical positive, the sheer size of the block sale creates a supply overhang that has already spooked the market.

The stock closed on Friday at €372.50, down 9.15% on the day and almost 15% lower over the past seven sessions. That puts it nearly 46% below the 52‑week high of €688.00 reached on 21 May — a dizzying drop that has been accompanied by a 30‑day annualised volatility of 142%. Even after the sell‑off, however, the shares remain up by roughly 207% since the start of the year, a reflection of how feverishly the space sector had been re‑rated.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying OHB SE?

Operationally, the picture is starkly different. On 4 June, OHB began integrating the core module for the RAMSES mission at its Bremen facility. The project, a collaboration between ESA and JAXA, is targeting the asteroid Apophis during its close fly‑by of Earth — just 32,000 kilometres away — in April 2029. OHB Italia has secured an ESA contract worth €81.2 million for the module, with the total programme envelope including preparatory work reaching around €150 million. The module is due to be mated with ArianeGroup’s propulsion system in early 2027.

In the small‑satellite segment, a successful first launch of the RFA ONE rocket by OHB‑backed Rocket Factory Augsburg, expected from the SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland after the 1 July launch window opens, would significantly reduce the group’s dependence on third‑party launchers. The broader business is already on an upward trajectory: total output in the first quarter reached €279.3 million, a 15% rise in revenue, and the record backlog of €3.35 billion — of which €2.68 billion sits in the Space Systems division — supports management’s target of €1.4 billion in full‑year output for 2026 and more than €2.0 billion by 2028.

Just days after the AGM, from 10 to 14 June, OHB will exhibit at the ILA Berlin air show, where it is expected to unveil new mission contracts. Whether those announcements can offset the selling pressure from KKR’s block trade and the dilution scare will depend heavily on the terms and execution of the share placements in the weeks ahead. For now, shareholders are weighing a record order book against a capital‑markets storm that shows no sign of clearing.