The announcement of Euronext’s improved bid for the acquisition of Hellenic Exchanges – Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) is a matter of days, with the European stock exchange aiming to complete the deal by August.
Exclusive information obtained by Naftemporiki, following discussions with Euronext sources, indicates that the procedures for submitting the improved offer for the acquisition of the Athens Stock Exchange are currently being finalized.
Sources familiar with the matter told Naftemporiki that Euronext’s management, advised by German bank Deutsche Bank, aims to finalize the agreement by the first ten days of August—and certainly before September.
On Wednesday, ATHEX stock closed at 7.21 euros, trading at a 4.49% premium over the initial public offer price of 6.90, which involves a share swap with a fixed exchange ratio of 21.029 ATHEX shares for each new Euronext share. In essence, the domestic market has dismissed Euronext’s initial offer price from day one.
On its side, ATHEX—having appointed Morgan Stanley as its advisor—is awaiting Euronext’s improved offer before issuing an opinion, which will be based on an assessment by an independent specialized advisor. It is worth noting that the transaction is expected to close—whether easily or not.
However, the key question for the stock market community concerns the acceptance threshold Euronext is aiming for in order for its public offer to be considered successful.
More specifically, whether it will be 33% (statutory majority), 51% (absolute majority), 67% (strong majority), or over 90%?
The wide dispersion of ATHEX shares favors even low acceptance thresholds, as Euronext would effectively gain control of the game even with 33%. According to the latest update from ATHEX, institutional investors in Greece and abroad collectively hold 53% of the share capital, retail investors 40%, and banks 5.7%.
The role of institutional investors will be pivotal to the outcome of the public offer. Some suggest that Euronext may already have reached an agreement with certain institutional shareholders, though this cannot be confirmed.
According to market sources, Euronext would be satisfied with a stake exceeding 33%, which would give it control of the statutory majority. This would allow it to appoint members to ATHEX’s Board of Directors. The same sources do not rule out the possibility of Euronext appointing board members following the model of OTE and the management approach taken by Deutsche Telekom.
