US-headquartered investment firm KKR has received final regulatory approvals to proceed with the purchase of a 28.6% minority stake in German space company OHB.
In August 2023, OHB announced that it had entered into an agreement with KKR to go private. During a panel at the European Space Tech Expo in November, OHB CEO Marco Fuchs stated, “It’s not a good place to be, in the public market, especially in the core business model of doing space projects.” He explained that going private would make OHB “a more agile and more dynamic company.”
In accordance with the August 2023 agreement, KKR committed to purchasing a 28.6% stake in OHB at €44 per share. This stake represented the majority of the company’s outstanding shares not owned by the Fuchs family, which holds a 65.4% majority stake. Only 6% of the company’s shares will remain in free float. With over 17.4 million shares, the 28.6% stake equates to a total purchase price of more than €200 million.
During an 8 May earnings call, Fuchs stated that he believed the deal with KKR would receive final regulatory approval within weeks. The company would, however, have to wait several months for that approval to come through.
On 27 August, OHB announced that it had finally received all regulatory approvals to proceed with the agreement and that it would officially be concluded on 9 September. The company will then move forward with delisting from public markets.
“In KKR, we have found the ideal minority investor who supports our long-term growth and with whom we can successfully implement our corporate strategy,” Fuchs said in a statement. “We are pleased that the offer is now also being completed. It allows our previous shareholders to benefit from the long-term value increase of OHB and, at the same time, paves the way for our delisting.”
The conclusion of the deal with KKR will benefit not only OHB but also Rocket Factory Augsburg (RFA), in which OHB holds a majority stake. In August 2023, KKR announced its intention to support the German launch provider with a €30 million convertible debt investment. The continued support of the investment firm will be important as RFA looks to move forward with the development of its RFA ONE rocket following the loss of a first stage during a static fire test. The company intended to use the stage for its inaugural RFA ONE flight later this year.
