KNDS chairman denies discussions over tank maker's full nationalisation

KNDS Chairman Tom Enders has denied reports of the company's potential nationalisation, stating that plans for a stock market listing remain the priority.

​KNDS Chairman Tom Enders denied on ​Wednesday a media report that ‌there ​had been discussions over the complete nationalisation of the Franco-German tank maker, saying plans for a stock market listing, ‌which are currently on hold, would still be pursued.

"There are no discussions regarding full nationalisation of KNDS, and there is absolutely no reason for it," Enders told Reuters in a written ‌statement, adding that an IPO remains the company's immediate priority. Newspaper Handelsblatt cited German ‌government sources on Tuesday as saying that Germany was considering the option of taking KNDS under full state control jointly with France.

"KNDS's financial situation is extremely sound with a massive order backlog. Working through ⁠KNDS's ​backlog as quickly as ⁠possible is the operational challenge for the coming years. Government control can't contribute to that," Enders said. The ⁠defence contractor's future ownership became uncertain in early July when plans for an IPO were ​put on hold.

The planned listing, announced in June, would be among the European defence ⁠sector's largest IPOs in recent years with KNDS's key German family owners and the French state, ⁠which ​both hold 50% of shares, each selling 10% to investors. Under the plan, the families had also intended to sell their remaining 40% stake to the German state.

Earlier ⁠on Wednesday, the French finance ministry told Reuters that a June 22 agreement on ⁠KNDS's governance, ensuring equal ⁠participation by France and Germany, remained fully in place. Any discussions between KNDS's family owners and the German state were "proceeding independently", it added.