The goal is an IPO by the end of 2023, Renk boss Susanne Wiegand announced on Tuesday. There is usually a gap of around four weeks between the official announcement of an IPO, the so-called Intention To Float (ITF), and the first day of trading. Wiegand said this is the next logical step on the growth path.
A public offer is planned Germany and private placements with institutional investors in other countries. The financial investor Triton, which took over Renk three years ago, wants to sell its existing shares but remain the majority owner of Renk even after the IPO.
Financial investor Triton is cashing in
Renk is currently experiencing a boom. The defense business with gearboxes for tanks or ships for the navy accounts for 70 percent, while the rest is made up of civilian business, for example with gearboxes for compressors. The former MAN subsidiary, world market leader in tank transmissions, was founded three years ago Volkswagen was sold to the financial investor Triton for 700 million euros. Bankers had recently estimated the possible valuation at 2.5 billion euros.
For example, the Renk HSWL-354 transmission is installed in the German Leopard 2 main battle tank. But also the Leclerc France drives with an ESM-500 gearbox from Renk. No matter how hard the German and French tank builders – united and divided in the Main Ground Combat System Alliance – work together, Wiegand is in business with both. “The French are fully relying on us,” says Wiegand. Also in the self-propelled howitzers for them Ukraine, which are currently being reordered, contain gearboxes from Renk.
Almost a billion in sales expected this year
In the first half of the year, Renk increased sales by 7.9 percent to 410 million euros, and adjusted operating profit climbed by 5.5 percent. In 2022, the company earned 144.3 million euros with sales of 849 million euros.
Revenues of 900 million to one billion euros are expected for the current year, and the profit margin is likely to be 16 to 17 percent. In the medium term, sales are expected to increase by ten percent and the profit margin to rise to 19 to 20 percent.