Athens International Airport (ATH) will offer 30% of its shares on the Athens Stock Exchange in an initial public offering (IPO) that will see the Greek government significantly cut its holding in the airport.

“It is expected that the listing of the company’s shares will take place in February 2024, subject to required regulatory approvals and market conditions,” ATH said in a Jan. 15 statement.

According to the ATH statement, the IPO will consist of all the shares held by HRADF, with the government retaining a 25% stake through HCAP.

ATH says the IPO, in terms of total proceeds, will be the largest in Greece in more than 15 years and “signifies a key milestone for Athens International Airport, the country and the local capital markets.”

Through the IPO, ATH private shareholder AviAlliance, which holds 40% of the airport’s shares, will have the right to acquire an additional 10%, according to ATH. The Copelouzos family, which owns 5% of ATH, will have the right to acquire an additional 1%. If these rights are fully exercised, ATH will free float 19% of its shares on the stock exchange.

While the airport says it will provide more details in a forthcoming formal prospectus, in a lengthy statement it made the case for the value of ATH for potential investors, calling it a “prized Greek infrastructure asset, underpinned by strong demand fundamentals.”

ATH notes the airport serving Greece’s capital handles 35% of the country’s total air traffic. It served more than 28 million passengers in 2023, up 10% over 2019.

“The airport is recognized as the ninth-most-connected hub in Europe by [OAG Schedules Analyser's] 2023 ranking,” ATH says, adding: “The airport’s location in the Attica region, Greece’s economic center, allows it to capture the maximum benefit from the resilience of leisure traffic [and] the general trend toward lengthening of the tourism season.”

ATH says it is well positioned for long-term growth. The airport “has developed 69 new destinations as well as service with 32 new airlines in the last five years,” ATH notes, adding, “Furthermore, [ATH] aims to carry out a three-phase, pre-agreed comprehensive expansion based on a master plan designed to reach passenger-per-year capacity of 50 million by 2046.”

The airport adds that expansion plans do “not require any new land or new runways as the airport’s two independent runways already in operation are already able to service a capacity of 50 million [annual] passengers.”

ATH CEO Yiannis Paraschis says “the involvement of a broader group of investors, exposure and ability to tap into capital markets … will further strengthen [ATH] by adding new perspectives and capabilities for the next phase of our development.”

Dimitris Politis, CEO of HRADF—which is giving up its 30% holding in ATH—says diversifying the airport’s “investor base … will unlock long-term value for the enterprise and will deliver significant benefits to the Greek economy.”

He adds: “It represents a great opportunity for international and domestic investors to participate in the success story of Greek tourism and to enhance the prospects of the local capital market.”