Warship builder TKMS makes stock market debut in latest sign of defence asset boom

FRANKFURT, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Warship builder TKMS TKMS.DE will make its stock market debut in Frankfurt on Monday, the latest move by parent Thyssenkrupp TKAG.DE to simplify its structure and take advantage of growing demand globally for defence assets.

Shares in the company will start trading around 0700 GMT on Frankfurt's stock exchange in a spin-off from Thyssenkruppthat will see the German conglomerate keep a 51% stake in TKMS, with the rest being distributed to its investors.

TKMS, which traces its roots back 187 years, is the world's largest builder of non-nuclear submarines, frigates and underwater technology including mine-sweeping systems, at its Atlas Electronics division.

Parent Thyssenkrupp is spinning off TKMS as it tries to cash in on soaring demand for defence equipment in light of Russia's ongoing aggression in Ukraine and U.S. pressure on Europe to take military matters into its own hands.

It also coincides with deliberations by Franco-German defence supplier KNDS over an initial public offering in the coming months, reflecting soaring investor appetite for defence pure plays.

TKMS, which employs more than 9,100 staff globally, last month held its first capital markets day, releasing margin targets that some investors said were not ambitious enough when compared with rivals such as Britain's BAE BAES.L, Germany's NVL and France's Naval Group.

Initially starting out as a maker of steam engines and railroad cars in the early 1800s, later iterations of the company made Germany's first submarine, the so-called Brandtaucher, as it sought to better compete with Denmark's navy.

Defence rally