Mytilineos considers relocating abroad
The management of Mytilineos Energy & Metal is pondering whether it should move its headquarters outside Greece, as the company grows and expands its activities in international markets.
Company head Evangelos Mytilineos, shortly after the announcement of a major investment of 1.16 billion euros for the acquisition of 1.4-gigawatts’ worth of solar parks in Canada and on the sidelines of the regular general meeting of shareholders that took place on Thursday, left open the possibility of transferring the company’s seat.
He described it as a “sensitive” issue due to the upcoming parliamentary election and emphasized that he will be able to comment on July 27, after the teleconference on the results of the semester.
“It is not a simple matter, but we are thinking about it. It is certainly not political and I will not answer now, because I am afraid it will become the object of political exploitation,” he said, explaining that he is under pressure to transfer the headquarters by major shareholders, who say the company’s values are traded in Greece at “degrading” levels.
He also noted that Mytilineos Energy & Metal lacks investment grade because it is headquartered in a non-investment grade country. The achievement of the investment grade will mark the country’s transition to the developed markets and, according to Mytilineos, will mobilize a huge inflow of capital, which cannot come today.
A little earlier, speaking to the company’s shareholders at the general assembly, Evangelos Mytilineos emphasized that the investment in Canada is an excellent one, in an important market in which the shareholder of Fairfax will contribute to its development.
Mytilineos made a special reference to the investment support measures for the energy transition taken by Canada, following the example of the US, and underlined that the photovoltaic parks that Mytilineos will develop in Canada will be subsidized at a rate of 30%.
The cost of natural gas in Europe is five times higher than in America, while electricity costs $20 per megawatt-hour, he emphasized, explaining on the sidelines of the general assembly the reasons why the company is considering building an aluminum plant in Canada or the US.
