Capital Maritime & Trading Plans Athens Bond Issue

Vaggelis Marinakis’ Capital group has a mixed fleet of over 80 ships, including tankers, container ships and dry cargo. At the same time, the company is pushing ahead with a large investment program exceeding $200 million, Greek media outlets Business Daily and FinUpNews.gr report.

Greek shipping company, Capital Maritime & Trading, owned by Vangelis Marinakis, will follow in the footsteps of Costamare and is planning to issue a large sized bond on the Athens bourse, indicating that something has changed in the Greek market after years of being off investor radars.

Capital Maritime & Trading is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has 80 vessels at sea, making it one of the largest companies in the world in its field. The initial preparations for the issuance of a Capital Maritime bond started about three months ago, while the issue is scheduled for autumn. It will be bigger than that of Costamare, as sources with knowledge of the subject matter point out that “it will exceed 100 million euros”.

It is understood that a new market is slowly emerging on the Greek stock market, as it acquires a tangible relationship with Greek shipping, a global force, controlling about 20% of the world market. The road opened with the bond of Costamare Participations PLC, 100% subsidiary of Costamare Shipping Co S.A., owned by the Kostis Konstantakopoulos family, as the market broadens and attracts more companies.

The bond issued by Costamare Participations PLC exceeded all expectations. The company sought 100 million euros, though offers reached 655 million euros, while the interest rate was at the lower end of the range at 2.70%.

Although a regular listing of a shipping company has not yet taken place on the Greek stock exchange, despite efforts from the Athens stock exchange in the last 15 years and the changes to the institutional framework, it seems that bond issues are gaining ground, as Greek-owned shipping companies are in constant search of new funding.

According to Business Daily sources, there are more Greek shipping companies listed on the NYSE “that have shown initial interest and asked about the procedures and details.”

Source : Shipping Herald