OHB's Record Order Book Can't Mask the Pain of a €484 Million Capital Raise
Published on 07/21/2026 at 19:06 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
OhB SE finds itself in an unusual position: a defence contractor with a bulging order book, political backing at the highest level, and a share price that has been cut by more than a third in a month. The disconnect stems from a capital increase completed in late June that handed the company nearly half a billion euros but also triggered a sharp reassessment of its equity value. By the start of this week, the stock was trading at €246, a far cry from the 52-week high of €688 reached just two months earlier.
The capital measure, approved by the board on 22 June, involved the issuance of up to 1.7 million new shares at €300 each. In practice, around 1.6 million shares were placed privately with institutional investors, while minority shareholders exercised rights for a mere 7,635 new shares. Combined with the sale of roughly 1.4 million existing shares by Orchid Lux HoldCo — a vehicle advised by KKR — the transaction generated gross proceeds of approximately €484 million for OHB. Crucially, both the Fuchs family and Orchid Lux waived their subscription rights, deliberately expanding the free float to over 20% and reducing the concentration of ownership that had long characterised the company.
The market’s reaction was swift and severe. The placement price of €300, well below the prevailing market level at the time, immediately raised dilution concerns, and the simultaneous sell-down by a major shareholder added to the unease. Over the following 30 days, the stock lost 36.46% of its value. Yet that dramatic correction masks a more nuanced picture: since the start of the year, OHB shares are still up by more than 111%, and technical indicators such as a 14-day RSI of 34 suggest the stock is oversold rather than fundamentally broken.
Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying OHB SE?
Bundesverteidigungsminister Boris Pistorius visited OHB’s Bremen site on 14 July, just as the stock was absorbing the capital increase’s impact. His message was unambiguous: Germany is committing €35 billion to military space capabilities and needs timely satellite deliveries as well as more launch capacity. The visit underlined OHB’s central role in Europe’s defence space strategy, but it also highlighted the gap between political ambition and market sentiment. For investors still digesting the dilution, a minister’s pledge of future billions offers little immediate solace.
Underpinning the share price weakness are operational numbers that tell a very different story. In the first quarter of 2026, OHB’s total output rose 15% to €279.3 million, while adjusted EBIT surged 63% to €16.8 million. The order backlog hit a record €3.35 billion. At the company’s Capital Market Day in January, management lifted its medium-term guidance, projecting revenue of more than €2.0 billion by 2028 with an EBITDA margin above 12%. The cash from the capital raise is earmarked specifically to expand the launch vehicle business, a segment that could be pivotal to that growth trajectory.
Alongside the financial reshuffling, OHB has also refreshed its leadership and governance. Dr. Theodor Weimer, former CEO of Deutsche Börse, was elected to the supervisory board at the annual general meeting in early June. On the operational side, Dr. Luis Alejandro Orellano took over as chief operating officer on 1 July, bringing fresh oversight to production and delivery. Shareholders approved a dividend of €0.60 per share for the 2025 financial year, a modest payout that reflects the company’s preference to retain cash for investment.
The real test for OHB in the coming quarters will be whether it can translate political tailwinds and record orders into sustained earnings growth — and whether a broader, more institutional investor base will restore confidence in the equity story. The capital raise has widened the shareholder register at the cost of near-term price stability. Now the company must demonstrate that the €484 million inflow will generate returns that justify the dilution, rather than a prelude to another funding round.
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