A draft law finalizing the framework for the public trading of Athens International Airport (AIA) shares on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) was tabled in the Parliament on Friday.
The draft bill envisions the validation of an agreement last month between the Greek state and AIA modifying a landmark 1995 concession contract. Specifically, a restriction on non-state shareholder ownership was abolished, along with corporate governance bylaws.
At present, the primary shareholders of AIA, known commercially as the Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport of Athens, are the Hellenic Corporation of Assets and Participations SA, with 25%; the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (30%), or HRADF, the country’s privatization fund; a subsidiary of Canadian insurance fund PSP Investments (40%, plus 60 shares), and finally, the Copelouzos family, with 5% minus 60 shares.
The 30%-stake held by HRADF will be offered to institutional investors and the private investors, along with existing shareholders through a private placement.
The same draft law includes ratification of an agreement with Aegean Airlines for the purchase, by the latter, of the stock option warrants for 85.4 million euros, a sum already funneled into state coffers.
Aegean Airlines purchased stock options issued in 2021 as collateral for state support it received during the Covid-19 pandemic.
