ADMIE has now secured the “fuel” needed to move forward with its major investment program, as well as an upgraded shareholder base comprising very large foreign funds, after the amount it initially sought was oversubscribed by a factor of 14.
This is both because the 250 million euros it is raising from the market “locks in” the entire 1 billion euro capital increase, since the remainder will be paid by the Greek government and China’s State Grid, and because among the foreign institutional investors who subscribed to the offering are some of the world’s best-known infrastructure and hedge funds, as well as large pension funds seeking investments with guaranteed, regulated returns, along with long-term stability, such as ADMIE.
Three of these stand out, according to banking sources, both for the amounts they have committed to the foreign book and because they are among the most significant international portfolios that traditionally invest in electricity transmission system operators and energy companies.
* This category includes Atlas Infrastructure, one of the world’s leading long-only infrastructure investors with over $170 billion in assets under management, offices in London and Sydney, and which has invested in all major European Transmission System Operators (TSOs).
* The second major foreign player to make a strong entry into the order book is, according to banking sources, Norges Bank Investment Management, Norway’s well-known state pension fund with assets exceeding $2 trillion and a current 1.69% stake in ADMIE, which also invests heavily in energy infrastructure and electricity operators.
* The third major player is the hedge fund Covalis, based in London and known for its involvement in the PPC capital increase, with a total portfolio value of over $1.6 billion and a specialization in investments in energy utilities.
The question, of course, is what all these players—as well as all the others, whose bids total 3.5 billion euros, or 14 times the 250 million euros the listed company sought to raise from the market—will ultimately be able to secure.
Although the market knew that 70 million of the above figure had been “locked in” by the cornerstone investor, namely Capital Group, it nevertheless offered funds amounting to 19 times the requested amount (i.e., the remaining 180 million euros).
According to banking sources, a breakdown shows that the 2.8 billion euros came from the foreign book and the 700 million euros from the Greek book, while the retail portion came entirely from retail investors.
In the case of PPC, which sought 4 billion but ultimately raised 18 billion euros, (over-subscription by more than four times), an inevitable “bloodbath” ensued in the allocation of shares; one can only imagine what will happen in the case of ADMIE Holdings, where the over-subscription exceeded the requested amount by a factor of 14…
The Day After and the Three Major Projects
In any case, since the market covered the 250 million euros, the entire capital increase of 1 billion euros was secured, as the remainder is “locked in” by the Greek government, which holds 51% of ADMIE, and its Chinese shareholder, State Grid, which controls 24%. This means that the Greek government is contributing 530 million euros to the capital increase (of which approximately 370 million will come from the Recovery Fund), and State Grid is contributing the remaining 240 million euros.
The offering price was set at 4.05 euros, and trading of the new shares will begin on June 24.
The tone for the coming days is set by the transition from planning to implementation for the three major power interconnections: the Dodecanese, the North Aegean, and the second line to Italy, as the Operator prepares to “finalize” contracts, financing, and technical specifications.
In the immediate future, for example, contracts are set to be signed for the AC cable sections that will interconnect the Dodecanese and the Northern Aegean, so that they can be integrated into the interconnected system, as stated a few days ago by Yannis Margaris, vice president of ADMIE, during a joint press conference with ADMIE Holding.
For the first section—Thrace–Lemnos, Kos–Rhodes, Lesbos–Lemnos, and Lesbos–Chios—Fulgor (Hellenic Cables) has been selected as the contractor.
For the next section—namely, the Rhodes–Karpathos, Aliveri (GIS)–Skyros, Samos–Kos, Skyros–Lesbos, Chios–Samos, Aegina–Megara, and Kefalonia–Kyllini, the contractor is the Italian company Prysmian. At the same time, the bidding process is underway for the 11 substations to be installed on the islands.
In another, highly complex project—the direct current interconnection between Corinth – Kos, the evaluation of bids for the cable section is underway, while first-phase bids are expected shortly for the two converter stations, which will be installed in Corinth and Kos, respectively. The project is considered crucial for connecting the two island clusters to the mainland grid.
The goal is for all three packages to be contracted out within the year, so that construction can begin immediately thereafter.
A third major project to be funded by the capital increase concerns the second Greece–Italy interconnection, where the evaluation of bids for seabed surveys is currently underway, in collaboration with the Italian operator (TERNA). The surveys are set to begin shortly and are expected to be completed by late 2027 or early 2028; they will form the basis for the precise design of the subsea cable route.
In parallel, ADMIE and TERNA are working on preparations for the converter stations and cable specifications, while each system operator is finalizing the projects required within its national power system to integrate the second interconnection. The project is expected to be completed in 2033.