OHB Faces a Twin Squeeze: Blocked €1 Billion Sale and the End of a Tax-Free Dividend
25.05.2026 - 11:01:04 | boerse-global.de
The German space group OHB is navigating a rare moment of friction. A planned €1 billion-plus secondary offering has been pulled from the calendar, spooked by the looming SpaceX IPO, while at the same time long-standing shareholders are about to lose a cherished tax perk on the company’s dividend. The combination has left the stock nursing a sharp intraday loss of 9%, sliding to around €589, a stark reversal from the prior session’s double-digit rally.
SpaceX Casts a Shadow Over Bremen
The decision to halt the placement was driven by the sheer magnitude of the US rival’s upcoming Nasdaq debut, scheduled for June 12, 2026. Fearing that an oversubscribed market would force deep discounts on its own shares, OHB’s management opted to wait. The seller of the block is KKR, the US private equity firm that holds 29% of OHB and had intended to offload a substantial chunk of that stake. The proceeds were earmarked to lift the free float to around 20% and to pre-finance satellite constellation projects.
Seven banks had already been lined up for the transaction — Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Berenberg and Commerzbank among them — and preparation work is now on ice. Despite the pause, the group still hopes to close a deal in the first half of 2026. Meanwhile, the Fuchs family’s grip on the company remains unshaken: they control 65% of the voting rights, a structure that the planned sale would not alter.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying OHB SE?
A Dividend Loses Its Tax-Free Gloss
Just days before the placement was shelved, investors received another jolt. At a virtual meeting on June 8, 2026, management proposed a dividend of €0.60 per share for the past financial year. Historically, that payout had been drawn from the company’s tax-exempt contribution account, meaning German retail investors received the full amount without deduction of withholding tax. According to the latest annual stand-alone financials, no such withdrawal from the capital reserve was made this time, so the distribution will be treated as a standard, taxable dividend.
The financial impact on income-oriented investors is negligible given OHB’s stellar run over the past twelve months — the stock has surged from a low near €63, pushing the dividend yield down to a wafer-thin 0.10% to 0.15%. With KKR and the Fuchs family holding the vast majority of shares, the free float is minimal and the payout is hardly a market focus.
Record Orders and a Strong Quarter Underpin the Story
Operationally, the case for patient investors remains robust. In the first quarter, total output rose 15% to nearly €279 million, while adjusted EBITDA jumped to €27.3 million. The group’s operating profit — on a reported basis — roughly doubled to €15.2 million. Far more telling, however, is the order backlog, which has hit an all-time high of €3.35 billion, led by the Space Systems division. Two key contracts stand out: a €248 million ESA order for the EPS-Sterna microsatellite constellation and the RAMSES mission to study the asteroid Apophis. Based on this foundation, management has set a 2028 revenue target of €2 billion.
Looking Ahead: AGM, Q2 Numbers, and the Placement Window
The annual general meeting is scheduled for June 24, 2026, where the dividend proposal will be formally put to a vote. The second-quarter figures are due on August 6. Until the capital market window reopens, OHB’s bulging order book gives it ample time to ride out the SpaceX-induced turbulence. The key question now is whether the planned placement can still squeeze into the first half or will slip into the second, as the company waits for a calmer day on the Nasdaq.
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