For the first time in history, a company of such a large size, a leader in seafaring with 78 ships in the seas of the world with a total capacity of 559,000 TEUs and listed on Wall Street, is getting ready to issue a bond on the Athens Stock Exchange.
The company is Costamare Shipping Co, owned by the Konstantakopoulos family (Costa Navarino, Hilton Athens etc.), that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) which yesterday received the green light from the Hellenic Capital Market Commission for the issue of a 100-million-euro bond which will be listed for trading on the Athens bourse. The subscription period will open up Wednesday, May 19, in a process that will end Friday 21/5, while the duration of the bond will be five years.
Not only is this an important step for the Athens bourse but, sources tell Business Daily, that procedures regarding another bond issue from a second large Greek-owned shipping company have commenced. Work has begun on the issuance of this second bond in an issue that is seen taking place after the summer.
As one can see, a new market is emerging for the Athens bourse as it acquires closer ties with Greek shipping, which is a leading force in the world, controlling about 20 percent of the global fleet. The management of the Greek stock exchange has made significant efforts to move closer to Greek shipping, estimating that it can provide additional weight and depth to the market.
Costamare’s bond
Regarding Costamare’s bond issue, strong interest is expected from investors in Greece and abroad. The issue will be completed by the Cypriot subsidiary of Costamare under the name Costamare Participations PLC, in order to facilitate the procedures.
According to sources familiar with the procedure, the funds to be raised by Costamare Shipping Co S.A. will go towards ship purchases, while the same sources emphasize that this is a first - trial version, with the aim of opening a channel of communication with the Greek market. In terms of bond procedures, it is a complex version, with many parameters that need to be settled, as it is the first time that a company to issue a bond in Athens, while its shares have a primary listing in the NYSE.
The effort of Costamare Shipping Co S.A. for issuing a bond on the ATHEX. had started in the summer of 2017, but due to the wider market crisis it had been pushed back to a later date. At that time, the target was for an issue of up to 50 million euros, while now the double amount will be requested, which the Greek market can "raise", as shown by all recent issues of companies such as PPC, Motor Oil and Mytilineos.
In 2020, Costamere’s turnover amounted to $460.3 million, down 3.7 percent from 2019, while adjusted earnings for common stock (before depreciation) reached $123.7 million and net profit hit $8.9 million
APOSTOLOS SKOUBOURIS
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