OHB: KKR Stake Sale Unconfirmed as Order Book Hits Record

Just 5.7% of OHB’s shares currently change hands freely — a structural bottleneck that has turned the stock into a high-volatility play and kept institutional money on the sidelines. The shares closed Friday at EUR 409.00, having surged 236% since the start of the year and added nearly 10% in the past week alone, with annualised volatility topping 148%.

What is confirmed — and what is not

Speculation about a placement of OHB shares by private-equity holder KKR has dominated the equity narrative. None of it is confirmed: OHB has publicly stated that it is reviewing financing options, is under no time pressure and has made no decision. KKR has not commented on or confirmed any sale of shares — neither in principle, in scope, nor regarding any deadline. Reports of a roughly 20% placement, of a June 30 deadline, or of a seven-bank syndicate are not substantiated and are not presented here as fact. With just 1.09 million of the company’s 19.2 million shares in free float, even modest buying or selling has historically triggered outsized price moves.

Operational engine running at full throttle

OHB’s total output rose 15% in the first quarter to EUR 279.3 million, and the order backlog hit a record EUR 3.35 billion at the end of March. That pipeline was further built up at the ILA Berlin air show, where the company announced new contracts and deepened its military-space ties. A joint venture with Rheinmetall for secure Bundeswehr satellite communications has been registered in Bremen, while the KIRK partnership with start-up Helsing is developing an AI-powered space reconnaissance system. OHB has also secured a lead role in the bid for SPOCK 2, a next-generation Bundeswehr surveillance satellite constellation. Its Italian subsidiary won a contract to build a specialised camera for the European Space Agency’s RAMSES asteroid mission.

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

Rocket milestone in July

OHB’s rocket subsidiary, Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), has applied for a launch window starting July 1 from the Shetland Islands, with seven satellites on board. Management has deliberately dampened expectations, noting that statistically more than 70% of maiden flights of new launch systems fail. The rocket venture is consolidated only at equity and remains an additional option for now.

Separately, the recent annual general meeting authorised the issuance of convertible bonds; some market observers see this as a possible step toward a future capital increase, though no such measure has been decided. CEO Marco Fuchs has set a target of doubling total output to over EUR 2 billion by 2028.