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Bloomberg
A Greek government-owned fund has picked banks for an initial public offering of its 30% stake in Athens International Airport.
The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) has chosen Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley to lead work on the share sale, which will likely take place in the second half of the year. It has selected Deutsche Bank as a senior joint bookrunner and financial adviser on the deal.
HRADF expects its stake to be valued at €800 million to €1 billion depending on market conditions, Chief Executive Officer Dimitrios Politis said in an interview this month.
Greece’s largest airport, known as Eleftherios Venizelos, handled more than 22.7 million passengers in 2022.
That was an 84% increase from the previous year, as tourism rebounded from Covid-19-related restrictions.
The listing could be the biggest IPO in Greece since 2000, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It comes as the European IPO market slowly rebounds from a dismal 2022, that saw activity come to a near-standstill amid heightened worries about inflation and a slowing global economy.
More banks could be added to the lineup, the people said. No final decisions have been made on the size or timing of the share sale. Representatives for HRADF and the banks declined to comment.