The FINANCIAL — The EBRD has successfully participated in a bond issue by the Greek industrial group Mytilineos Holdings S.A. with an investment of €30 million, equal to 10 per cent of the total €300 million offering under the Greek Corporate Bonds Framework that the Bank has developed to support the local corporate bond market.
Mytilineos is a Greek diversified industrial group active in the sectors of aluminium production, energy and construction. The group was founded in 1908 by the Mytilineos family and has been listed on the Athens Stock Exchange since 1995 with a capitalisation of €980 million as of June 2017.
The bond issued by Mytilineos was its debut publicly traded bond and a landmark transaction for the newly established debt capital markets of the Athens Stock Exchange due to its size and tenor, according to EBRD.
Evangelos Mytilineos, Chief Executive Officer of Mytilineos Holdings, said: “The EBRD’s participation in our debut bond issuance was a catalyst for the success of the offering. We look forward to cooperating with the EBRD in our extensive capex programme in the future.”
Sabina Dziurman, EBRD Regional Director for Greece and Cyprus, added: “We are very pleased to participate in this bond as it not only enables us to support this leading Greek company, but also to support the development of the local capital market. This transaction is a sign that investors’ confidence in Greece is finally returning and the EBRD is determined to make the most of this momentum so that we see robust and solid growth in the country again.”
Sokratis Lazaridis, CEO of the Athens Stock Exchange, commented: “The successful conclusion of the Mytilineos bond issue, the largest in a series of five corporate bond issues listed on the Athens Stock Exchange in the past nine months, demonstrates our market’s capacity to provide access to funding, at competitive rates, to dynamic Greek companies. This offers a much-needed funding option to Greek businesses as well as an investment alternative for retail and institutional investors and will make a significant contribution to the Greek economy on a sustainable basis.”
The EBRD started investing in Greece on a temporary basis in 2015 to support the country’s economic recovery. The Bank’s priorities are the strengthening of private companies and the financial sector, support for privatisation, infrastructure development and regional integration of the Greek economy. Since the beginning of its operations, the EBRD has invested over €1.1 billion in more than 20 projects in the country.
Under the EBRD’s new transition concept the Bank aims to promote the six transition qualities, defining successful and sustainable market economies as resilient, integrated, inclusive, green, well-governed and competitive.
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