Quick answer:
Czechoslovak Group (CSG) debuted on Euronext Amsterdam at €25 per share, valuing the Prague-based defence manufacturer at €25 billion. The IPO raised €3.8 billion — the biggest defence listing on record by both capital raised and valuation. Shares jumped 31% on day one. Orders outstripped supply roughly 14 times.
At just 33, founder Michal Strnad personally realised nearly €3 billion.
More than a blockbuster listing, it was a signal: Europe’s rearmament is no longer just policy — it’s now fully funded by capital markets.
From Surplus Parts to a €25B Empire
Three decades ago, Strnad’s father began trading surplus Soviet military equipment with just 100,000 Czech crowns — about $3,700.
In January, his son stood in Amsterdam ringing the opening bell for a company now worth more than Rolls-Royce.
The IPO structure underlined the scale:
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€750m in new shares
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€2.55bn in existing shares sold by Strnad’s holding company
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€496m overallotment, exercised in full
Total proceeds: €3.8bn, while only 15.2% of the company changed hands.
Demand was immediate. Institutional books filled within hours. By allocation, orders reportedly topped $60bn — roughly 14× the deal size.
Cornerstone backers included BlackRock, Artisan Partners, and Qatar Investment Authority, each committing €300m. Many funds received no allocation at all.
Not Hype — Heavy Industry
CSG isn’t a speculative defence startup. It’s already a cornerstone of Europe’s munitions supply chain.
Today the group is:
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Europe’s #2 producer of medium- and large-calibre ammunition (35% share)
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The world’s largest small-calibre ammunition maker (13% share)
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Operating 39 manufacturing sites across Europe, India, and the US
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Employing 14,000+ people
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Generating €5.2bn in 2024 revenue
Its subsidiaries form a catalogue of Europe’s rearmament infrastructure:
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Excalibur Army — armoured vehicles and land systems
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MSM Group — artillery shells
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Kinetic Group — acquired from Vista Outdoor for $2.23bn despite objections from US lawmakers including JD Vance
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Remington — small-calibre ammunition
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Eldis — radar tech
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Tatra Trucks — vehicle platforms used across NATO fleets
The Ukraine Effect
CSG’s growth is tightly linked to Europe’s wartime production ramp-up.
Since 2022, the company has been one of the leading suppliers to Ukraine, delivering one million artillery shells in 2024 alone under the Czech Ammunition Initiative.
Deliveries to Kyiv accounted for 42% of total revenue last year.
Long before the invasion, Ukrainian systems — including the Bohdana howitzer and Neptune missile — were already mounted on Tatra platforms. The relationship simply scaled dramatically once demand exploded.
Wartime Growth Rates
The numbers are what really turned heads during the roadshow.
First nine months of 2025:
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Revenue: €4.49bn (+82.4% YoY)
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Adjusted EBITDA: €1.22bn
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Margin: 27.1%
Within weeks of listing:
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Excalibur secured a $300m armoured vehicle export deal in Southeast Asia
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A cooperation agreement followed with Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa
According to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), CSG is now Europe’s fastest-growing defence company by revenue.
Strnad’s goal is blunt: build CSG into Europe’s second-largest defence manufacturer. With fresh IPO capital earmarked largely for acquisitions, the path is clear.
What This IPO Really Means
The listing isn’t just a win for one company. It marks a structural shift in how investors view defence.
For years, ESG screens kept many institutions away from arms manufacturers. That wall is falling fast.
The depth of demand for CSG — spanning sovereign wealth funds, US growth managers, and European pension funds — shows defence has moved from an excluded sector to a strategic allocation.
A 14× oversubscription is the kind of frenzy normally reserved for hot tech listings.
The timing fits the politics. European governments are boosting defence budgets as part of strategic autonomy goals. While NATO members target 2% of GDP spending, many analysts say 3.5% may be necessary. Artillery inventories sit at roughly 10% of wartime needs.
Someone has to build that capacity — and someone has to finance it.
Public markets just volunteered.
As Bloomberg reports, defence, tech, and telecoms are now leading Europe’s IPO pipeline into 2026. Investors who missed CSG are already hunting for the next listing.
Strnad’s pitch to shareholders was simple: going public would accelerate innovation, global expansion, and long-term supply capability.
€25 billion of capital suggests the market believes him.
