The chief executive of Euronext, Stéphane Boujnah, sees strong momentum in new company listings in Greece, estimating that the turmoil in international markets has not erased companies’ willingness to raise capital through the stock market.
Speaking to Bloomberg, the head of Euronext argued that the IPO pipeline remains active, despite the sell-off in bond markets, singling out Greece as one of the markets where increased activity has been recorded recently.
The Greek momentum and shipping companies
“We have recently seen quite strong momentum in Greece,” Boujnah said, making special reference to shipping companies turning to the Greek market and returning to the country for their listing on a European stock exchange.
His statement comes at a time when Euronext Athens is seeking to strengthen its role as a financing destination for shipping, with new listings already having taken place during 2026.
Boujnah also sees activity in the defense sector as well. He referred to the postponement of the IPO of the Franco-German KNDS, noting, however, that the plan remains active, while, as he said, other mid-sized technology companies with activity in defense are also considering raising capital from the markets.
According to him, the unified equity market created by Euronext now has the scale and liquidity to support this activity, arguing that it remains about twice the size of the London market based on key indicators of size and trading activity.
The “barb” for London
The reference to London gave Boujnah the opportunity for yet another barb at the British market.
As he said, before Brexit “London was the largest financial center of the European Union,” while today “it is becoming the largest financial center of the United Kingdom.”
Asked about the possibility of consolidation with the London Stock Exchange, he made clear that he was referring to the exchange itself and not the LSEG as a whole. He nevertheless repeated that in acquisitions “you need both a willing buyer and a willing seller,” noting that today he does not discern willingness from the other side.
Deutsche Börse and greater European scale
His stance was similar regarding Deutsche Börse as well. Boujnah made clear that there are currently no discussions for a deal, but argued that deeper consolidation could create a group with the scale required to compete with the major American players.
He even left open, as a theoretical possibility for the future, a model that would more closely unite the equity markets of the largest European economies with those of countries such as the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Ireland and Greece.
The next step for European capital markets
The CEO of Euronext linked corporate consolidation with the broader changes being set in motion in Europe, predicting stronger common market supervision and a greater role for ESMA.
The second major issue, as he stressed, is the use of European savings. Europe has, according to him, huge savings reserves, which, however, are not being channeled to a sufficient degree into long-term investments and equities.
He cited the US as an example, where retirement savings are much more closely linked to investments in the capital markets, unlike much of Europe, where the emphasis remains on public pension systems.
Boujnah, who completes his third term at Euronext in May 2027, avoided predicting what the next big deal will be, but recalled that for years he had heard that Borsa Italiana “is not for sale,” until the day it ultimately was put up for sale and passed to Euronext.