Ibadan, 24 September 2026. – German space hardware company HPS GmbH is bringing MBS GmbH into its shareholder base, with MBS acquiring a 20 percent stake as part of a strategic partnership aimed at supporting HPS’s growth and expansion into security- and defense-related markets.
The investment will strengthen HPS’s capital base and support a seven-figure investment program over the next two years, with the company planning to expand technology development and series production. Planned investments include special antennas, multilayer insulation (MLI), mesh and material technologies, digitalization, AI-supported processes, IT and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, as well as additional personnel and facilities in Germany and Romania.
MBS deepens partnership with HPS
The investment builds on an existing commercial relationship between the two companies, with MBS being a long-standing customer of HPS. The new shareholder relationship is expected to give HPS greater access to security- and defense-related markets, particularly in the communications sector, while deepening MBS’s relationship with a supplier of satellite hardware and antenna technologies.
“Healthy growth is only possible through trusting cooperation with reliable business partners. With MBS, we now have a long-standing customer and strategic partner among our shareholders. Together, we can accelerate the scaling-up of our activities, particularly in the field of communications antennas, and expand our industrial capabilities,” explained Dr Ernst K. Pfeiffer, CEO and shareholder of HPS GmbH.
Complementary capabilities target new markets
HPS develops and manufactures space hardware including reflector and array antennas, large deployable reflector subsystems, thermal hardware, metal mesh, secondary structures and deorbit systems. Its communications portfolio includes reflector, array, horn, patch, signal-intelligence and small deployable antennas, while its thermal and mesh technologies support a range of spacecraft applications.
On the other hand, MBS operates across satellite communications, ground infrastructure, responsive space missions and space-based applications, with a focus on mission-critical communications, situational awareness and managed gateway services. Its investment in HPS brings these activities into closer alignment with HPS’s capabilities in satellite hardware, antennas and related spacecraft technologies.
“With HPS, we are consistently expanding our expertise to include satellite antenna technology. This enables us, together with our engagement in the German company BST, to offer and deliver complete systems incorporating their capabilities whenever they are needed,” added Sven Sünberg, Managing Director and shareholder of MBS GmbH.
The combination of these complementary capabilities could give the companies a broader basis for addressing requirements across the satellite value chain. For HPS, the partnership provides a strong starting position for accessing existing market opportunities more quickly, while retaining its entrepreneurial independence and ability to work with other customers. The arrangement could also allow HPS to build on its existing hardware portfolio and commercial relationships while benefiting from MBS’s established position in satellite communications and space services.
Preserving HPS’s ownership structure
The transaction also changes HPS’s shareholder structure while leaving its management unchanged. MBS will hold a 20 percent stake, with CEO and Managing Director Dr. Ernst K. Pfeiffer remaining the company’s largest shareholder with a 43 percent stake.
Together with other employee shareholders, HPS employees will collectively hold 61 percent of the company, while 97 percent of the shares will remain in German hands and 3 percent in Italian hands. This structure allows HPS to retain its position as a medium-sized company with German roots while strengthening its position in the defense and space industries.
