‘A landmark opportunity for Greek markets’

Euronext’s next steps, with the European bourse aiming for the full acquisition of the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) were the subject of a discussion with the group’s CEO, Stéphane Boujnah that was first published in Kathimerini on Sunday. “What matters now,” he emphasized, “is ensuring the start of the integration process to make the Greek capital markets even more relevant.”

Regarding the shareholders who have tendered their shares, he notes that they are now Euronext shareholders and, as such, will benefit from the high liquidity of its stock and its exposure to international investors. Boujnah will be in Athens at the end of this week to meet with ATHEX employees, and soon, cooperation with all stock exchange staff will begin. He points out that the integration of core operations will commence in 2026, while in 2027 the state-of-the-art trading technology will be absorbed.

The acceptance of the public offer reached 74.25%, significantly exceeding the minimum threshold. Did you anticipate this outcome, and what does it mean for you?

Euronext’s offer on ATHEX is an impressive success and, above all, a strong expression of trust from the Greek financial community in our shared project. For the past five months, we have listened carefully and engaged closely with ATHEX’s shareholders, with the Greek financial ecosystem, and with institutional stakeholders to share our vision for ATHEX. Throughout these conversations, we have consistently found a positive perception and a warm reception toward our proposal. The Greek market has an international orientation that aligns naturally with our European project. This outcome reflects our strong commitment to work with Greece to integrate Greek capital markets into a fully pan-European framework, guaranteeing the relevance of the Greek market in the long term.

The main topic for Euronext is to ensure the 90% threshold necessary to proceed with the squeeze-out process. How are you planning to do this?

Before mentioning what lies ahead, I would like to thank all ATHEX shareholders who tendered their shares, expressing their confidence in our capacity to lead the Athens Stock Exchange and post-trade infrastructures into a new area of growth, but also for their trust in Euronext. This Monday, ATHEX shareholders who tendered their shares will effectively become Euronext shareholders. As such, they will benefit from the high liquidity of our stock and its exposure to international investors, and from the growth prospects of our share price.

Our objective is to ultimately reach full ownership. We retain the flexibility to use any legally permitted option to achieve this goal. At this stage, no decision has been taken, and we will communicate transparently and in due course as soon as additional steps are confirmed. What matters now is ensuring the start of the integration process to make the Greek capital markets even more relevant.

Assuming that Euronext’s stake subsequently reaches 90%, could you describe the next steps?

On November 24, Euronext will become the controlling shareholder of ATHEX, which will enable us to start implementing the integration roadmap we have been openly discussing over recent months. The direction is clear: ATHEX will progressively join the Euronext federal model, benefiting from shared technology, stronger European visibility, and the resources of a broader market, while keeping its local strengths and continuing to serve the Greek economy.

Any decision regarding the next steps of our tender offer will be communicated in due course. Euronext has several avenues to become the sole shareholder of ATHEX.

In this context, are you planning a visit to Athens?

I will be in Athens on November 28 to meet with all the ATHEX employees and welcome them into the Euronext family. Of course, we will soon start to work with all of them to integrate ATHEX within the Euronext framework. We will start by integrating central functions in 2026. In 2027, our state-of-the art trading technology is expected to be implemented in Greek markets. In 2028, we expect the first milestones of the integration of post-trade activities into our European framework. These successive steps will allow Greek capital markets to enter a new area of growth.

‘Greek listed companies will gain access to Europe’s largest investor community and benefit from the same visibility tools and international exposure as all Euronext issuers’

Euronext’s goal is to modernize the Hellenic Exchanges Group technologically. What will be the amount of the investments?

Our goal is to modernize ATHEX technologically. The cornerstone of this transformation will be the migration of ATHEX markets to Euronext’s state-of-the-art integrated European trading platform, Optiq. This is one of the most resilient and efficient trading technologies in the world, and it already supports some of Europe’s largest and most liquid markets representing around 25% of the volumes traded on equities in the continent; this is twice the size of London’s equity market.

This integration will require significant investments from a financial, a technological or an operational perspective. These investments will be developed in close cooperation with ATHEX’s teams, ensuring alignment with market needs and continuity for all users. The specific investment envelope will be communicated as the integration roadmap is finalized.

The integration of ATHEX within Euronext represents a landmark opportunity for Greece to elevate its capital market to a pan-European level. Ultimately, this step opens a new horizon of opportunities for Greece and Greek market participants.

For Greek companies, and for Greece’s economy at large, this means easier access to funding, easier access to capital markets and greater interest from international investors. For investors, it means a more attractive and a more liquid market. For brokers, it means getting access to higher volumes and market activities, access to a pan-European and international liquidity pool, broader and innovative product offerings, and taking advantage of highly resilient and efficient technology.

Our intention is not to impose disruptive changes, but to strengthen and future-proof the Greek market – helping it grow, attract investment, and reinforce its role within Europe.

EXAE has been actively supporting its listed companies by organizing roadshows abroad. Are there plans in place to ensure this practice continues?

Visibility and competitiveness are key strengths of being a Euronext-listed company. Greek listed companies will gain access to Europe’s largest investor community and benefit from the same visibility tools and international exposure as all Euronext issuers. Through initiatives like Euronext Tech Leaders, thematic indices, and IPOready, we actively promote local companies across Europe.

Being part of Euronext doesn’t dilute visibility, it amplifies it, connecting Greek listed companies to new investors and markets they could not reach before. Our goal is to build on the strong foundations laid by ATHEX and open even wider doors for Greek companies, both large and small.

The Greek stock market is comparable in scale to those of Portugal and Ireland, where a decline in listed companies was observed after joining Euronext. What advice would you give to Greek listed companies, beyond utilizing tools such as the ones mentioned above?

The performance of listed companies in any market fundamentally reflects the evolution of the companies themselves, their sectors, and the broader national and global economic context, rather than the ownership of governance structure of the exchange on which they are listed.

Our role as the leading European capital market infrastructure is to create the best possible environment for companies to raise capital, increase visibility and attract investors. This is what happened for the stock exchange of every country that joined Euronext. In Ireland, for instance, following the integration of the Irish Stock Exchange into Euronext, the number of market members doubled, the cash trading volumes increased by 20%, and the number of trades rose by 40%.

Greece is a vibrant economy with a lot of appetite for SMEs to list on the exchange. Our objective is to ensure that Greek companies – large and small – benefit from a stronger platform, broader visibility, and easier access to capital. We strongly believe the Greek market has all the fundamentals to flourish within the Euronext family.

In your opinion, what will the landscape of the European markets look like in a few years?

Euronext is the leading capital market infrastructure in Europe. Our ambition is to build the backbone of Europe’s Savings and Investments Union. While this is being discussed in Brussels, we, at Euronext, are making it a reality. We have steadily advanced this vision through strategic acquisitions: the Irish Stock Exchange in 2018, Oslo Bors VPS in 2019, VP Securities in Copenhagen in 2020 and the Borsa Italiana Group in 2021. Today, we are doing it again with the acquisition of ATHEX. We will continue to consolidate European capital markets in the coming years, wherever it is possible.

But we have also diversified our business model over the past years, expanding well beyond equities into asset classes such as fixed income with MTS, FX with Euronext FX, and power trading with Nord Pool active in 16 countries in Europe, while becoming active in clearing with Euronext Clearing, settlement and custody with Euronext Securities, and corporate and investors solutions. This diversification strategy, both along the value chain and away from the core equity market is essential to build a stronger, more resilient company for the next decade.