Athens Airport Makes Stock Market Debut with a Bang
Greek authorities welcomed on Wednesday the strong interest in Athens International Airport (AIA) shares after trading began on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), the airport said.
Greece raised a total of 785 million euros from the sale of a 30 percent stake in the country’s largest airport following a combined offering last week to Greek and foreign investors and existing shareholders.
It marks the country’s largest initial public offering in the last 15 years and the first successful major IPO in Europe for 2024.
AIA stock rose 13.8 percent to 9.33 euros on the ASE from an offer price of 8.20 euros per share.
“The moment we’ve been working hard for all this time has arrived,” Athens International Airport CEO Yiannis Paraschis said.
“As of today, AIA’s shares are available to the investing public and together with them, a landmark public offering is completed for the Greek market,” he added while also thanking the investment community for its “impressive participation” and strong confidence in the company and its development plans.
Minister: The Greek economy has turned a page
Commenting on the news, Greek Infrastructure and Transport Minister Christos Staikouras said the development dynamic of Athens Airport demonstrates its strategic importance for Greece.
“This confirms the Greek economy has turned a page. It is becoming more extroverted, relying more and more on investments, which in turn strengthen sustainable development, create new jobs ,and encourage social cohesion,” Staikouras said.
“Investments in the modernization and expansion of the airport are moving ahead so that capacity is increased to accommodate more aircraft and passengers with the goal of increasing terminal capacity to 50 million passengers annually by 2046,” he added.
AIA, also known as “Eleftherios Venizelos Airport”, is Greece’s largest handling over 28 million passengers in 2023 while surpassing pre-Covid 2019 levels by 10.2 percent outperforming many of its European peers. The airport has repeatedly been awarded for performance in several key areas and accounts for approximately 35 percent of total aviation traffic to Greece.
One of most efficient and easy to navigate in arrivals and departures! ….. Used since it began from infancy!…. Always a pleasant experience and joyful!❤️❤️