By Alexander Hübner and Sabine Siebold MUNICH/BERLIN, April 11 (Reuters) - Germany must ensure it matches France's holding in a planned 20 billion euro ($23 billion) listing nL8N40722D of Leopard tank
IPO of Leopard tank maker KNDS must ensure German-French parity, IG Metall's Kerner says
Germany's Stake in KNDS IPO: Ensuring Parity with France
By Alexander Hübner and Sabine Siebold
Background of the KNDS IPO
MUNICH/BERLIN, April 11 (Reuters) - Germany must ensure it matches France's holding in a planned 20 billion euro ($23 billion) listing nL8N40722D of Leopard tank maker KNDS, a high-level German labour leader said, adding that this will require Berlin taking more than a blocking minority of 25%.
IG Metall's Position on Ownership Parity
Juergen Kerner, deputy head of Germany's most powerful union IG Metall, told Reuters that ownership parity was key "to safeguard German technology and jobs" and that Berlin "must not miss the right moment to do so".
Kerner, one of Germany's most senior worker representatives, holds supervisory board seats at numerous German industrial firms including Siemens Energy, Thyssenkrupp, Siemens and Traton.
Current Ownership Structure and IPO Plans
KNDS is currently owned through a 50-50 split between the French government and the family owners of Germany's former Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, or KMW, who plan to sell their entire stake in an IPO which sources say is planned for June or July.
Berlin's Potential Stake and Concerns
Sources told Reuters in February that Berlin is preparing nL6N3ZD0M8 the purchase of at least 25.1% as a result, a level Kerner said will not be enough to ensure parity with France's holding.
Risks of Insufficient German Ownership
"Even if France was prepared to reduce its stake to, for example, less than 40%, a blocking minority of 25% would not be sufficient. Otherwise, Germany runs the risk of losing control of a key company in the course of the IPO," Kerner said.
Significance of the IPO and Official Responses
The planned IPO could become one of the biggest in Europe this year and would establish KNDS as one of the region's 10 biggest defence companies in a sector that has drawn investor interest as the continent seeks to increase military spending.
Government and Stakeholder Comments
The German government said it was currently reviewing the conditions for an investment in KNDS, including the size of any stake and the overall ownership structure, declining to comment further.
Spokespeople for KNDS and its German family owners declined to comment.
Additional Information
($1 = 0.8531 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Sabine Siebold; Additional reporting by Christoph Steitz and Andreas Rinke; Editing by Alexander Smith and Jane Merriman)
