Star Bulk Carriers is poised to join Euronext Athens. If completed, the move would mark the second major dual listing of a Greek-owned shipping company in Athens, following Safe Bulkers.
The move is expected to be accompanied by a €100 million public offering of shares, with the process reportedly due to begin on September 9 and conclude on September 11. According to market sources cited by Naftemporiki, the company, one of the world’s largest independent players in the dry bulk shipping market, is working on the process while maintaining its primary stock market listing in New York. According to the same sources, other Greek shipping companies have also been approached about pursuing a dual listing on the Athens Stock Exchange.
Advertising campaign
Signs of Star Bulk’s upcoming move have strengthened in recent weeks, as the company has stepped up its advertising presence in the Greek market.
Full-page advertisements in the press and television spots have highlighted the group’s scale, its fleet of almost 150 vessels — both in operation and under construction — its market capitalisation of around $3.5 billion in New York, and the approximately $2.1 billion it has returned to shareholders over the past five years through dividends and share buybacks.
Safe Bulkers was the company that paved the way, completing the first dual listing of a shipping company on Euronext Athens on June 2. By June 19, around 65,000 Safe Bulkers shares were changing hands daily in Athens, equivalent to roughly one-tenth of the stock’s trading activity in New York.
At the same time, the existence of two trading venues created arbitrage opportunities due to small price discrepancies.
As analysts pointed out, for companies that believe their US valuations do not fully reflect the value of their assets, a second European market can provide additional liquidity and access to a different investor base.
In Star Bulk’s case, the company’s scale would give particular weight to the Athens initiative. It is worth noting that Star Bulk Carriers announced earlier this month its strongest quarterly results since the second quarter of 2022, driven mainly by higher freight rates in the dry bulk market.
A test for Athens
The acquisition of the Athens Stock Exchange by Euronext and the upgrade of the Greek market by MSCI from “emerging” to “developed” status have increased interest from a sector that has traditionally looked to New York and Oslo for listings.
Euronext markets currently host 39 listed shipping companies with a combined market capitalisation of €38.7 billion, while shipping bonds total €4.7 billion. The ecosystem attracts 656 institutional investors from 29 countries, strengthening the case for access to a broader pool of European capital.
In recent comments, Safe Bulkers chairman said he believed Athens now had the conditions to develop into a major European shipping capital-markets centre, capitalising on the fact that it is already Europe’s largest shipping hub.
Against this backdrop, Star Bulk’s entry into Euronext Athens is expected to be the strongest test yet of Athens’ ambition to establish a meaningful link with Greek-owned shipping and secure a role in European financing for the sector.
Source: Naftemporiki