Destinus has not said whether it raised the €200 million that Bloomberg reported in May it was seeking, at a valuation above €5 billion. On 20 October it said only that Helsing would join its “latest funding round, alongside other investors”, with no amount. There is no exchange filing and no listing date.
Bloomberg reported on 15 May, citing people familiar with the plans, that Rothschild and UniCredit were arranging the round. The valuation rested on projected annual revenue of about €500 million. A listing in Amsterdam was under consideration.
Destinus is a Dutch company that makes attack drones and cruise missiles. Mikhail Kokorich founded it in 2021. He gave up his Russian citizenship in January 2024 over the war in Ukraine.
Kokorich co-founded Momentus, a US space company, and stepped down as its chief executive in January 2021. A US national security review of the company ended that June, and holders linked to him sold their Momentus shares, the company’s filings show.
The Rheinmetall venture
Destinus’s biggest partner is Rheinmetall. In April the two announced Rheinmetall Destinus Strike Systems, a joint venture for cruise missiles and rocket artillery. Rheinmetall holds 51%, and the deal needs regulatory approval.
It has not been signed yet. On 27 September Rheinmetall chief executive Armin Papperger said it was in the “final stage before signature”. He expects the venture’s first cruise missile order by the end of 2026 or early 2027.
Money so far
Destinus has raised money without a listing. In January it announced a €50 million facility from Commerzbank and said it had raised nearly €400 million in total, a company figure.
Amsterdam has drawn two Czech defence groups this year. CSG floated there on 23 January, the largest defence IPO on record by Euronext’s count. Colt CZ, listed in Prague since 2020, added Amsterdam as a second listing on 15 April.
From 28 September to 9 October, Destinus’s loitering munition was in the second stage of the European Defence Agency’s Sentinel Strike Challenge in Portugal, as one of the top five applicants.
