Tankmaker KNDS filed paperwork Wednesday to list shares in Frankfurt and Paris, offering a 20% public float. Current owners – the French state and Wegmann & Co. GmbH, which holds the family stake – will each sell enough to leave the two governments with a 40% holding. The move reshapes the firm into a Franco‑German joint venture.

The IPO will place the Amsterdam‑based group under a dual‑government governance model agreed earlier this week, with equal French and German stakes. A 20% free float will trade on both exchanges, while the remaining 60% stays in state hands. Arrangers include Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale.

KNDS posted €4.4 billion in 2025 revenue, up 16% year‑on‑year, and its order backlog rose to €33.1 billion. With 11,000 employees and contracts spanning Ukraine to 40 global armies, the listing positions it alongside peers such as Rheinmetall. The flotation underscores Europe’s drive to keep strategic defence assets on public markets.