Germany's OHB plans €500 million capital injection as SpaceX IPO resets space valuations

By Gianluca Lo Nostro

June 15 (Reuters) - German satellite maker OHB announced on Monday plans for a €500 million ($581 million) rights issue, becoming the first space company to tap public markets after SpaceX's record $2 trillion listing lifted investor appetite for the sector.

The Fuchs family, OHB's majority shareholder with a 65.4% stake, and KKR-owned Orchid Lux Holdco will waive their subscription rights for the offering, OHB said, though details on pricing and volume remain undisclosed.

KKR, which holds a 28.6% stake in OHB, also plans to sell shares in a secondary placement but will retain most of its holding, according to a bookrunner for the deal.

Elon Musk's SpaceX surged past $2 trillion in its landmark initial public offering on Friday, sharpening investor focus on space stocks and lifting valuation expectations across the sector, according to analysts.

"Everybody's aiming for higher valuation," Marco Fuchs, OHB's chief executive, told Reuters.

"I have not sold anything, not just me. My family, including my sister, will not sell a share. I have not sold a share because I believe, and she believes, and the whole family believes in the company with strong long-term prospects," he said.

Based on OHB's closing price of €410 on Friday, the planned capital raise would equate to roughly 1.2 million new shares, representing about 6% of current share capital, according to Reuters calculations. If offered at a lower price, the free float, currently at 5.7%, could increase by between 7 and 8 percentage points.

The exact amount of KKR's disposal will depend on demand but will be less than half, Fuchs added.

OHB said proceeds from the rights issue will go toward mergers and acquisitions, investments in launch vehicles, and ramping up industrialisation of production facilities.

Shares of the Bremen-based company, which have surged more than threefold this year, fell 3% by 1303 GMT.

($1 = 0.8609 euros)

(Reporting by Maria Rugamer, Gianluca Lo Nostro;Editing by Linda Pasquini and Matt Scuffham)