With firepower exceeding €2.3 billion, GEK TERNA is preparing for new investments in sectors such as energy and transportation following yesterday’s private placement of shares to institutional investors.
With a surprisingly small discount, the transaction closed at 42.50 euros per share, 3.4% below yesterday’s closing price.
The amount ultimately raised totaled 658 million euros, exceeding the initial target of 500 million euros, representing a vote of confidence from foreign investors in Mr. Peristeris’s group.
It should be noted that GEK TERNA’s stock has surged by 73% in the last six months alone, reflecting investors’ confidence in the company. At the same time, quite a few brokerage firms have set a target price for the stock exceeding 50 euros per share, indicating that there is still room for further upside.
The Capital Increase
Yesterday afternoon, Mr. Peristeris’s group took the market by surprise with an announcement regarding a private placement to foreign institutional investors through an accelerated book-building process.
Of course, there were indications that GEK TERNA had its sights set on a capital increase, as it had completed a series of roadshows in cities such as London and Milan just a few weeks ago, as reported by Euro2day.
It has also recently entered into new agreements that require fresh capital. Last week, it announced a strategic partnership with the German company Rheinmetall in the defense sector, and the day before yesterday, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the natural gas company, Naftogaz, in the energy sector, strengthening its presence in Ukraine.
In addition, the group is currently implementing investments totaling 5 billion euros, as management reported at the recent General Shareholders’ Meeting.
However, sources emphasize that the new capital will finance a new round of investments. The group is targeting new projects in concessions, public-private partnerships (PPPs), infrastructure, transportation, energy, and defense, according to reports, which add that the €658 million will serve as “seed capital” for the group through leverage.
In a statement, the company said that “it will use the net proceeds to support the continued expansion of its infrastructure and concession platform, primarily in Greece, and specifically to finance its defined investment program in the sectors of transportation, water, energy, and other related infrastructure, including concession projects and PPPs beyond its current business plan.”
With an eye on new sectors
GEK TERNA’s move follows a similar step by AKTOR, which announced a few days ago that it aims to raise one billion in capital over the summer.
Essentially, both groups are scaling back their role in construction activities, shifting their focus to infrastructure and concessions while strengthening their operations in rapidly growing sectors.
Cash reserves of 2.3 billion
It should be noted that even prior to yesterday’s share placement, GEK TERNA held a significant amount of cash on hand. According to a recent company presentation, at the end of 2025, the group had 1.7 billion euros at its disposal, of which 853 million euros belonged to the parent company.
In addition, there have been other capital-strengthening measures recently, such as last year’s issuance of a seven-year bond by the group, from which GEK TERNA raised 500 million euros. Furthermore, there are the funds that flowed into the group’s coffers from the sale of GEK TERNA’s stake in TERNA Energy to Masdar.
Share Dilution
Although the issuance of new shares bolsters the group with fresh capital, broadens the shareholder base with strong foreign investors, and increases the stock’s liquidity, it also comes at a cost to Mr. Peristeris.
Analysts estimate that the issuance of approximately 15.5 million new shares will result in a dilution of existing shareholders’ stakes by about 10%. It should be noted that Mr. Peristeris holds a 31.8% stake in the company.
It should also be noted that, as part of yesterday’s transaction, both Mr. Peristeris and the company have entered into lock-up agreements for a period of 180 days from the completion of the share capital increase.
The global coordinators of the book-building process were “Banco Santander, S.A.,” “Mediobanca Banca di Credito Finanziario S.p.A.,” and “Morgan Stanley Europe SE,” jointly with “AXIA Ventures Group Ltd.,” as co-managers of the book-building process.