OHB's €7.6M Satellite Deal Adds to Record Backlog as KKR's €1.1 Billion Exit Hangs on SpaceX IPO
01.06.2026 - 17:53:11 | boerse-global.de
The operational machine at OHB SE keeps humming, even as one of the most anticipated stock market debuts in years throws a wrench into a long-planned exit by its second-largest shareholder. A new €7.6 million subcontract for the European weather satellite constellation EPS-Sterna underscores the company's deepening footprint in space infrastructure, but the market's attention remains fixed on the timing of a €1.1 billion stake sale by private equity firm KKR.
KKR, which holds roughly 29% of OHB's shares, aims to offload about 20 percentage points of that position—a deal that would lift the free float from a wafer-thin 6% to around 26%. The placement was initially scheduled for June 12, but the window has collided head-on with the SpaceX initial public offering, a blockbuster listing that monopolises investor attention and banking capacity. OHB has paused the sale, and the pressure is mounting: the transaction must close by June 30 or the mandate lapses. If it does go through, KKR's remaining stake would shrink to a single-digit percentage, while the founding Fuchs family keeps its stranglehold with 65% of voting rights.
The thin trading conditions have already produced violent price swings. On May 27, OHB shares cratered nearly 16% intraday, driven by a free float of just 5.68% of the 19.15 million shares. At the Stuttgart exchange, the stock oscillated between €421.50 and €478.50 on volume of only 1,019 shares—a range of nearly €57 that a handful of orders can dictate. As of June 1 at 4 p.m., the shares stood at €419.00, down 4.77% on the day and 32.85% below the 52-week high of €688.00 touched on May 21. The stock remains a study in extremes: over the past 30 days it had gained 65.89%, but a seven-day view shows a 20.34% slump.
Against this volatile backdrop, OHB's operating business is delivering steady progress. The company's Swedish subsidiary, OHB Sweden, has awarded AAC Clyde Space a €7.6 million contract to supply 21 power distribution and conditioning units plus 21 data processing systems for the EPS-Sterna weather satellite constellation. The subsystems, which manage onboard energy and data handling, will equip 20 flight satellites and one test spare, with deliveries running from 2027 through 2029. About 70% of the order value is expected to hit revenue by the end of 2027. The contract follows a March 20 order for 20 microwave radiometers worth €76.3 million—the scientific payloads central to the constellation's meteorological mission.
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EPS-Sterna is Europe's next-generation operational weather satellite programme, backed by EUMETSAT and executed by the European Space Agency. Six satellites will orbit simultaneously in polar orbit to deliver temperature and humidity data for weather forecasting. The full programme, which runs to 2042, calls for 20 satellites, with the first launch slated for 2029. OHB Sweden serves as prime contractor, having secured a €248 million development and manufacturing contract on March 18—the largest satellite deal in Swedish space history. The new subcontract from OHB Sweden shifts the narrative from headline-grabbing orders to the nuts and bolts of supply-chain execution.
The parent company's order backlog has swelled to a record €3.35 billion as of March 31, 2026, 45% above the €2.31 billion level a year earlier. In the first quarter, group revenue climbed to €270.9 million from €229.3 million, while EBITDA rose to €25.7 million from €17.3 million. The Space Systems segment posted an unconsolidated throughput of €209.2 million, up from €185.6 million, and segment EBITDA advanced to €22.1 million. On a consolidated basis, total performance increased 15% to €279.3 million, adjusted EBITDA lifted 37% to €27.3 million, and net profit nearly tripled to €9.9 million from €3.7 million. The company's mid-term targets call for total performance of €1.4 billion in 2026, €1.7 billion in 2027, and more than €2.0 billion in 2028, with the EBITDA margin rising from 11% to above 12%.
All of these figures will be put to shareholders at the virtual annual general meeting on June 8 at 10 a.m. The agenda includes a proposed dividend of €0.60 per share, the discharge of management and supervisory boards, and a new share option programme for up to 576,447 rights, capped at 3% of share capital and valid through June 2031. A more contentious item is a request for authorisation to issue convertible or warrant bonds and profit participation rights with a total nominal value of up to €1.2 billion, valid until 2031.
OHB SE at a turning point? This analysis reveals what investors need to know now.
Meanwhile, another OHB subsidiary is preparing for a decisive moment. Rocket Factory Augsburg has requested a launch window starting July 1 for the first test flight of its RFA ONE rocket from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland. First and second stages have already been delivered. The team spent 18 months revising the Helix engine, tank pressurisation systems, and ground procedures after a hot-fire test incident. OHB cautions that historically, first flights of new launch vehicles succeed less than 30% of the time.
The fate of the KKR placement may hinge on how SpaceX trades on its debut. A strong opening would likely rekindle appetite for space-sector exposure, potentially clearing the path for OHB's secondary offering before the June deadline. A lukewarm reception, by contrast, could force the deal into July, where the window expires. For a stock that already moves 57 euros on a thousand shares, the stakes could hardly be higher.
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