THE GREEK authorities gave the green light yesterday for the Bank of Cyprus’s listing on the Athens Stock Exchange, ending months of speculation that the blue-chip’s application had run into trouble.
"It is a giant step towards internationalising the Bank of Cyprus. New sources of capital will be tapped,
enabling further expansion. The prospects are tremendous," a beaming Solon Triantafyllides, chairman of the bank, told reporters minutes after he got the final word from Greek authorities.
Earlier, the hierarchy of the bank had spent some tense hours huddled in its Nicosia headquarters,
waiting for the phone to ring from Athens.
The Bank of Cyprus applied for its listing last December but delays were inevitable because of changes to legislation required for the debut of foreign companies. Some 350 companies are in the queue waiting for a listing on the Greek stock exchange.
The group, which today has a market capitalisation of £2.5 billion, is planning to issue 39 million
shares, or the equivalent of 12 per cent of its share capital, on the Greek market.
The strike price of the issue would be calculated through book building, using as a basis the closing
price of the Bank of Cyprus’s share on the Cyprus bourse at a date yet to be defined.
The Bank of Cyprus closed yesterday nine cents lower to £ 7.20. If the share remains steady until the issue ate, scheduled either for September or October, it stands to absorb at least £280 million from the Greek market.
The bank, which made its foray into the Greek market in 1991, now holds a two per cent market share.
The Bank of Cyprus has been rapidly expanding overseas in recent years in the face of a saturated domestic market. It has a 45 per cent market share on the island.
In addition to new branches planned for Greece, the Bank of Cyprus is planning to open its first branch in Australia in September and is finalising the takeover of the Greek-owned Interbank in New York.
The bank still needs clearance of its listing particulars from the Capital Markets Committee but
this is expected to take place "very soon", Triantafyllides said yesterday.
Under Greek law, the bank has to proceed with an issue within three months of the final approval.
"The issue won’t be in August. It will be in September or October," the Bank of Cyprus chairman said.
An October issue would make new shareholders eligible for a one-for-five bonus share issue the bank plans for all its shareholders around October 20.
Adviser to the issue is Alpha Finance. Alpha Finance and National Bank of Greece are co-lead managers.
