(Feb 4): WB Electronics SA, one of the leading specialist drone producers in the European Union (EU), has started preparations for an initial public offering (IPO) in Warsaw with a planned listing in late 2026 or early next year, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Polish company picked White & Case LLP as a legal adviser and intends to choose banks to help arrange the offer in a month or two, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing the plans.
The development comes after the IPO of Czech armoured vehicle and munitions maker CSG NV in Amsterdam drew more than US$60 billion in investor demand, underscoring strong appetite for European defence stocks. WB Electronics has grown exponentially since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with its drones used extensively on battlefields.
With the conflict across Poland’s border showcasing new military tactics involving unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV), the government in Warsaw as well as other European allies want to allocate a large chunk of EU defence funds to bolster drone capabilities. WB Electronics calls itself the bloc’s largest UCAV producer.
Based in the Warsaw suburb of Ozarow Mazowiecki, WB Electronics has seen its revenues jump to three billion zloty in 2024 from 343 million zloty in 2021. Its co-founder and chief executive officer Piotr Wojciechowski told Bloomberg in October that a potential IPO decision had to be backed by the government, whose state development fund PFR SA is a minority owner in the firm.
Wojciechowski owns 45.49% in WB Electronics, deputy CEO and fellow co-founder Adam Bartosiewicz 28.07% while PFR has 26.44%, according to the company’s website.
See also: Syngenta hiring banks for potential Hong Kong IPO, Bloomberg reports
PFR has thrown its weight behind the IPO plan, though the listing still requires additional government approval after the company was added to the list of strategic entities, the people said. The remaining hurdles, including gaining exemptions from disclosure rules for Warsaw-listed companies due to the sensitive nature of its contracts, could delay or even derail the offer, they added.
Representatives from WB Electronics and PFR were not immediately available for comment. White & Case declined to comment.
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