It’s almost exactly six years ago that the investor Guy Wyser-Pratte caused unrest at the Bremen space company OHB. At times, the American only owned a few percent of the shares, but at the time he called on the listed family company to change structures and corporate management in order to become more efficient and benefit from the boom in the industry. The Fuchs family, clearly in the majority with 70 percent, answered politely but firmly. Wyser-Pratte then withdrew – and sold.
Now, with KKR, the family is getting another US investor on board and wants to take OHB off the stock exchange after 22 years. The holding company has declared that it wants to take over all shares that are not family-owned and is offering 44 euros per share for this. In addition, a ten percent capital increase for around 77 million euros is planned. KKR would thus invest up to 288 million euros in the company, plus 30 million euros for the OHB subsidiary Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), which plans to launch its first small rocket next year. The founding family got the deal off the ground, but they will not sell any shares themselves and will still hold a good 65 percent of OHB afterwards.
Despite the episode with Wyser-Pratte, OHB boss Marco Fuchs is not afraid that an activist investor like KKR could cause too much unrest in the company. On the contrary: “We still have a very comfortable majority at 65 percent, but a say is expressly desired,” Fuchs told the SZ. After all, OHB also learned from the criticism from back then and, for example, expanded the supervisory board. With KKR he now hopes for more momentum. “We were risk-averse and sometimes comfortable, I want to give the company an impetus.” It’s about “that the company develops better, I can’t just think about my personal feelings.” What Fuchs appreciates about KKR is “that they are very interested in getting involved as a minority shareholder in family businesses”. The KKR takeover of the Hensoldt armaments group, where he has recently been a member of the supervisory board, is also a success story.
Fuchs will now remain CEO of OHB at least until mid-2028, when he will be 66 years old. He assures that KKR’s entry is not the first step in the family’s withdrawal. “We will remain the majority shareholder in the long term, after all, we have created our wealth from this investment.” Last but not least, the foundation model also prohibits the sale of shares. Fuchs gives another reason for saying goodbye to the stock market: “The stock market is unattractive for a small share like OHB. I had the feeling that we were undervalued at EUR 32.” The OHB share price gained around 30 percent on Monday. The offer price of EUR 44 per share corresponds to a premium of 36.6 percent on last Friday’s closing price.
Marco Fuchs is to remain OHB boss until mid-2028.
(Photo: Stephan Rumpf)
RFA wants to launch the first rocket next year
With the investment, KKR shows that German and European aerospace are becoming increasingly important in view of the global growth in the industry. “We see great potential in Europe,” said Christian Ollig, the responsible partner at KKR. With additional investments in research and development, OHB is “ideally positioned for long-term sustainable growth”. Because of the Ukraine war, the Bremen-based company is also expecting more orders in the armaments sector.
The entry of the investor could also increase the chances of OHB taking a financial stake in the EU’s planned Iris² broadband satellite network. “We want to be a strong partner, there will be more and more space projects that require more commitment from companies,” said Fuchs.
Specifically, the Americans will contribute 30 million euros to RFA. The start-up builds so-called microlaunchers, the first launch is planned for the second quarter of 2024. So far, RFA has collected EUR 80 million for this, mostly through the OHB Group. “The investment is an important confirmation for RFA,” said Fuchs. “So far we haven’t managed to find substantial independent investors.” RFA boss Stefan Tweraser now also expects practical support: “KKR’s global network and industrial know-how will accelerate our mission.”