Greek government plans Athens airport IPO to sell 30% stake

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The Greek government has announced plans to sell part of its stake in Athens airport through an initial public offering, as the country enjoys a boom in tourism and the privatisation of state assets is expected to gather pace this year.

Athens International Airport on Monday outlined plans for a listing on the Athens Stock Exchange in February, with the Greek state planning to sell a 30 per cent stake in the country’s largest airport, raising about €800mn, according to a person familiar the matter.

Greece has enjoyed a strong rebound in tourism since the end of pandemic border restrictions, and passenger numbers at the airport hit a record 28mn in 2023, up 24 per cent on the year before.  

Greece’s credit rating was lifted to investment-grade status in September for the first time 13 years, underlining the country’s economic recovery. The airport sale is expected to boost the Athens stock market and signal the country’s return to normality after its decade-long debt crisis.

The listing “represents a great opportunity for international and domestic investors to participate in the success story of Greek tourism,” said Dimitris Politis, chief executive of The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (Taiped), the government body charged with privatising state assets. 

Taiped holds a 30 per cent stake in the airport, with German airport investor AviAlliance owning just over 40 per cent and the Greek Copelouzos family has 5 per cent. 

The Greek government would retain a stake in the airport even after the IPO through the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations, a separate government body that owns 25 per cent and holds a significant amount of other Greek public assets. 

The sale would enable foreign institutional investors to gain sizeable exposure to Greek assets, as well as boosting the Athens stock market, according to Greek officials.

“The involvement of a broader group of investors, exposure and ability to tap into capital markets, [ . . . ] will further strengthen Athens International Airport,” said Athens airport chief executive Yiannis Paraschis.

Under the terms of the proposed listing, AviAlliance and the Copelouzos family would have the right to increase their stakes in the airport by 10 per cent and 1 per cent respectively, with AviAlliance potentially becoming the majority shareholder, according to people familiar with the deal.