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Shares in European ammunition maker Czechoslovak Group soared 25 per cent on its trading debut in Amsterdam on Friday, underlining investor appetite for defence stocks as Europe rushes to rebuild its military capacity.
CSG shares were trading at €31.50 by mid-morning on Friday, above an offer price of €25 a share and valuing the company at more than €31bn.
The Prague-based company, which manufactures munitions and armoured vehicles, floated 15.2 per cent of its shares in the offering on Friday, in one of Europe’s largest listings in recent years. Artisan Partners, BlackRock and Al-Rayyan Holding — a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority — acted as cornerstone investors, committing a total of €900mn to the IPO.
The deal is Amsterdam’s biggest listing of the past decade, according to Bloomberg data, and Europe’s first major IPO of 2026, which investors are hoping will be a busy year for the continent’s equity capital markets.
European defence stocks have been on a storming rally this year, and CSG is the first in a wave of defence IPOs expected in 2026, as companies aim to capitalise on high valuations.
The Franco-German tank maker KNDS and British metal engineer Doncasters Group are also preparing for IPOs, the FT reported last year.
“Defence has worked very well in the public markets and investor interest in IPOs in the sector is high, given the scarcity of listed ways to play it,” said Ashish Jhajharia, head of Emea equity capital markets at JPMorgan.
The Stoxx Europe Aerospace and Defence index — a basket of European defence names — is up more than 10 per cent in January, adding to a 57 per cent gain in 2025. Valuations have soared, with the sub-index trading at a price-to-earnings ratio of around 36 times, compared with 17 times for the broad Stoxx Europe 600.
German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall gained 154 per cent last year, as US President Donald Trump piled pressure on European governments to shoulder the cost of their own security, prompting new spending commitments.
Nato members agreed last June to meet Trump’s demand to increase their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP.
CSG chair Michal Strnad said that the company’s listing “strengthens our ability to . . . deliver on our mission to be a critical long-term supplier of advanced defence and industrial solutions to Nato states and government partners worldwide”.
BNP Paribas, Jefferies, JPMorgan and UniCredit were the lead banks on the CSG deal.
