Green light for the initial public offering of Athens International Airport

The Greek capital market regulator recently approved the initial public offering (IPO) of Athens International Airport, and its price range implies a market capitalization of between 2.10 and 2.46 billion euros (2.29 - 2.68 billion dollars), according to marketwatch.com.

The airport informed, last week, that the price range of the IPO is between 7 and 8.20 euros per share, and the size of the offer, including the overallocation of shares, is 90 million titles. The company specified that the final price of the offer and the exact number of shares that will be sold will be determined following a bookbuilding process that will take place during the subscription period and will be announced around February 2.

The subscription period of the public offer is expected to end on February 1, according to the company's press release. According to estimates, the company's shares will be launched for trading on the Athens Stock Exchange around February 7.

Athens International Airport (AIA) is 55% controlled by the Greek state, according to ekathimerini.com. With net debt of 405 million euros at the end of September 2023 and 460 million euros in cash dividends owed to pre-IPO investors, the airport operator should have an enterprise value of around 3.3 billion euros, it notes ekathimerini.com. The generous pre-IPO dividend should ensure the Greek government receives up to 1.2 billion euros from the share sale while retaining a stake in the airport company, according to the source.

In September last year, the Greek Minister of Finance, Kostis Hatzidakis, announced that Greece intends to list Athens International Airport on the stock exchange in 2024.

After emerging from a decade-long financial crisis in 2018 and receiving three international aid packages worth 260 billion euros, Greece sold stakes in ports and energy companies to boost competition and to reduce his debt. Also, Greece has managed to put its finances in order, and its economy is performing better than other countries in the euro zone. "We are striving to reach our fiscal targets, to regain an investment grade rating from the major rating agencies and to further reduce the public debt," Hatzidakis said last year.

Subsequently, the rating agencies Fitch and S&P improved the rating on Greece's solvency to "investment grade" (recommended for investment), from "junk", reminds Reuters.

Now, by listing its biggest airport operator, Greece is trying to signal to investors that the country has recovered nearly 15 years after its mounting debt necessitated an international bailout and rocked the euro zone.