Willkie Advises on Initial Public Offering of Gabler Group AG

March 10, 2026

Willkie advised Gabler Group AG, the selling shareholder and the banking syndicate on the initial public offering of Gabler Group AG with an issue volume of approximately €132.8 million, assuming full exercise of the greenshoe option.

Founded in 1962, the Gabler Group AG, headquartered in Lubeck, Germany, is a leading developer and manufacturer of mission-critical subsea solutions. The company generates the majority of its net sales from defense and defense-related solutions.

The banking syndicate consisted of Cantor as sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner and Bankhaus Metzler as another joint bookrunner.

The IPO of Gabler Group AG marks the first IPO of a German company this year. It comes against the backdrop of a surge in investment in the European defense sector and underscores increased investor interest in companies with defense-related business models.

The offering comprised new shares from a capital increase and existing shares held by the Possehl Group, a long-established private equity investor and industrial holding company based in Lübeck, which remains the majority shareholder of the company following the IPO. The company's shares will be traded on the Scale segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

Willkie acted as transaction counsel and advised Gabler Group AG, the selling shareholder Possehl Group and the banking syndicate on all capital markets and corporate law aspects of the transaction.

The Willkie team was led by Capital Markets partners Simon Weiß and Joseph Marx and included associates Martin Kalbhenn and Niklas Keller, with partner Jacob Ahme and associate Dr. Patrick Kemper advising on corporate matters.

Related Locations

Frankfurt

An der Welle 4
D-60322 Frankfurt am Main

Hamburg

Poststraße 6
20354 Hamburg

London

Citypoint, 1 Ropemaker Street
London EC2Y 9AW