Germany agrees with KNDS owner families to buy 50% stake in tank maker
The German government reached a deal with KNDS owner families on acquiring a 50% stake in the Franco-German tank maker, a government document showed on Thursday. Germany aims to acquire the family owners' shares in KNDS via an M&A transaction and then gradually reduce its stake to 40% along with France, according to the document prepared by the German finance ministry for the parliament's budget committee.
The owner families declined to comment. Business daily Handelsblatt first reported the news.
A person close to the matter told Reuters in October that Berlin was in talks to acquire a 50% stake in the defence group from its owner families, after conditions for an initial public offering deteriorated this year. The company's family owners and the French state currently each hold 50% in KNDS.
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