(Jan 23): Armoured vehicle and munitions maker CSG NV’s shares rallied in its Amsterdam trading debut on Friday morning, reflecting the surge in investor appetite for defence stocks from mounting geopolitical tensions this year.
Shares rose as high as €33 apiece in the first hours of trading, 32% higher than the offer price of €25 each. The first-time share sale valued the Prague-based company at €25 billion and marks the largest-ever initial public offering (IPO) globally for a pure-play defence firm. The firm and its owner raised €3.3 billion in the IPO.
“The initial pop is even greater than some had expected, although the deal was priced to please, and underscores the defence theme and sector demand,” Mark Taylor, director of European sales trading at Panmure Liberum, said.
If CSG closes a touch above €31 per share, it will be the best first day performance for a European IPO that raised more than US$3 billion since Infineon Technologies AG’s shares more than doubled on their debut in 2000, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Investors placed more than US$60 billion in orders for the IPO, amounting to about 14-fold the total size of the deal, people familiar with the matter said. About 40% of the investors who placed orders were not allocated any stock, they said, asking not to be named as the information is private. A representative for CSG declined to comment.
The record IPO is a product of a rapid shift in the defence industry since 2022, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompting more demand for the shells, bullets and armoured vehicles CSG creates. Meanwhile, publicly listed defence stocks soared across Europe, with a basket of companies compiled by Goldman Sachs Group Inc tripling over the past two years.
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“CSG’s impressive opening trading likely reflects a multitude of factors, from tight IPO availability, hot sector in focus with limited ways to gain exposure, support from cornerstone investors and a strong start could begin to attract index inclusion interest,” Emmanuel Valavanis, senior vice president of special situation equity sales at Forte Securities, said.
The company marketed shares at a fixed price and cornerstone investors including Artisan Partners, BlackRock and a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority agreed to buy €900 million of shares. The offering took place over a quick timeframe, with only three days of order-taking.
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The CSG stand at the International Defence and Security Technologies Fair in the Czech Republic in May 2025.
CSG’s chairman and owner Michal Strnad said he wasn’t surprised there was a pop in the shares as they knew that demand was higher than the offer, in an interview with Bloomberg. A faster IPO process was mainly because “interest was great, we didn’t want to delay the process or face some market risk”.
The 33-year-old plans to use the €2.55 billion he raised from the deal for his family office which will invest in a portfolio of non-defence related companies.
“I have a team ready for that, we’re not starting from zero, but this will be a great injection for them,” he said.
Strnad may also sell a further €496 million of shares if an overallotment option is exercised. The company raised €750 million through the IPO, which will be used for general corporate purposes.
CSG’s trading debut marks the first major IPO of the year in Europe, and the biggest in Amsterdam in more than a decade.
The company is trading under the ticker “CSG”. BNP Paribas SA, Jefferies Financial Group Inc, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Unicredit SpA arranged the deal.
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