Booming debut for Csg on the Amsterdam stock exchange, the largest IPO in the defence sector

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Czechoslovak Group (ticker Csg), a Prague-based defence company, has landed on the stock exchange and started its listing on Euronext Amsterdam. After the first hours of trading, the stock was trading at close to 30 per cent above EUR 32 per share, while the admission and issue price for Csg shares was set at EUR 25. The market capitalisation was EUR 25 billion, and the initial public offering raised a total of EUR 3.8 billion. This is the second listing on Euronext in 2026 and the largest IPO in the defence sector ever recorded in the world, both in terms of amount raised and market capitalisation.

In detail, the base value of the transaction was approximately €3,304 million, consisting of the issuance of 30,000,000 new shares in the amount of €750 million and the sale of 102,173,914 existing shares in the amount of approximately €2,554 million by Csg Fin. In addition, the over-allotment option for the purchase of shares representing in total a maximum of 15% of the combined number of new shares and sale shares, i.e. a maximum of 19,826,086 existing shares, generated an amount of approximately EUR 496 million. The company obtained commitments from three major institutional investors, Artisan Partners, some funds from BlackRock and Al-Rayyan Holding (a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Investment Authority), for a total amount of EUR 900 million.

"The success of our listing is a testament to the hard work, dedication and ingenuity of our employees, as well as the trust that our customers and partners place in us," commented Michal Strnad, President of Csg. "Becoming a publicly traded company demonstrates our commitment to high standards of transparency, disclosure and corporate governance and reinforces our ability to invest in innovation, expand our global presence and fulfil our mission to be a long-term key supplier of advanced defence and industrial solutions to NATO member states and government partners around the world. We are proud of the combination of our Czech industrial heritage and our global manufacturing presence,' he explained, 'and look forward to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders in the years to come.

Csg is one of Europe's leading defence companies and a key long-term supplier to NATO member states and partners. Csg is Europe's second largest producer of medium and large calibre ammunition and the world's largest producer of small calibre ammunition and sells its products to governmental bodies and established companies inmore than 70 countries worldwide. Founded in the Czech Republic, the Group has a global presence with 39 production facilities based in the Czech Republic, India, Italy, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, the UK and the USA.

In the first nine months of 2025, group revenue reached EUR 4.49 billion, an increase of 82.4 per cent year-on-year. Adjusted operating ebit increased by 77.1% to EUR 1.10 billion, while adjusted operating ebitda amounted to EUR 1.22 billion, with the margin at 27.1%. As of 30 September 2025, the group's total confirmed order book was approximately EUR 14 billion, with total opportunities of approximately EUR 32 billion comprising the confirmed order book and pipeline under negotiation. The company is currently targeting a dividend payout ratio of approximately 30-40% of net profit, payable starting in 2027, subject to Board approval and prevailing market conditions.