In this episode of IPO Stories, we speak with Susanne Wiegand and Christian Schulz, former CEO and CFO of RENK, one of Europe’s most important defense suppliers. RENK, a 150-year-old German industrial company specializing in high-performance transmissions for tanks and naval vessels, listed in Germany in February 2024 and is now valued at over €6 billion, with shares up more than 300% since the IPO. The listing came at a moment when Europe’s security environment — and investor perception of defense — was undergoing a profound shift.

Susanne and Christian describe how geopolitics fundamentally reshaped RENK’s strategy, investor base, and capital structure. Defense was no longer a niche or cyclical business, but a long-term structural growth market. Independence mattered. Speed mattered. And access to public equity became essential to scale capacity, invest ahead of demand, and remain a neutral supplier to all major primes. The episode offers a rare inside view into how leadership teams must sometimes move faster — and think more clearly — than both advisers and markets.

Beyond the transaction itself, this conversation is about judgment under pressure. How do you educate investors when sentiment lags reality? How do you build conviction in a misunderstood sector? And what does it really take — culturally, operationally, and personally — to lead a company into public markets when history is moving faster than capital markets? This is an episode about leadership, credibility, and why Europe’s defense industry is entering a fundamentally new chapter.

Disclaimer: The discussion in this episode is not financial advice, nor an investment recommendation, nor a solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments or an offer for financial services or any other transaction. The information contained in the recording has no contractual value and is intended for informational purposes only. Amundsen Investment Management and the participants in this podcast may have holdings in the companies being discussed. Any views expressed are those of the guests only, and not of Amundsen Investment Management.

NBIM manages the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, the world's largest SWF - $2 trillion, of which $1.4 trillion is invested in public equities, across more than 8000 companies globally. NBIM is also one of the world's most active investors in IPOs, with more than 100 IPO investments in 2024.

Emil Framnes, the fund's Global Head of Equity Trading and Transition, has been with NBIM for almost 20 years and oversees all the fund's trading in equities, ensuring that the fund can efficiently deploy and adjust capital at massive scale. With an investment horizon measured in decades, NBIM approaches new listings and secondary offerings differently from many other market participants, making Emil's perspective particularly interesting for companies considering an IPO.

Disclaimer: The discussion in this episode is not financial advice, nor an investment recommendation, nor a solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments or an offer for financial services or any other transaction. The information contained in the recording has no contractual value and is intended for informational purposes only. Amundsen Investment Management and the participants in this podcast may have holdings in the companies being discussed. Any views expressed are those of the guests only, and not of Amundsen Investment Management.

Sweden has been one of the world's most active IPO markets over the last 10 years, despite a population of only 10 million. The Swedish markets has seen very solid support for IPOs, in large parts thanks to a very successful equity investment ecosystem, with both strong pension funds and retail participation.

With Adam Kostyal, Nasdaq's head of listings for Europe and President of Nasdaq Stockholm, we delve into the background for this successful growth of Sweden's capital markets, and the lessons that can be learnt from it for other countries.

Disclaimer: The discussion in this episode is not financial advice, nor an investment recommendation, nor a solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments or an offer for financial services or any other transaction. The information contained in the recording has no contractual value and is intended for informational purposes only. Amundsen Investment Management and the participants in this podcast may have holdings in the companies being discussed. Any views expressed are those of the guests only, and not of Amundsen Investment Management.