Capital Maritime Finance Corp., the container shipping company majority-owned by Evangelos Marinakis, rose in the first days of trading on the Athens Stock Exchange before giving back some of its gains amid a sharp decline towards the end of the week.
The company, which raised €300 million through its listing, closed at €7.53 a share on Friday. That was marginally above the offer price set earlier in the week, while a broader index of large-cap shares in Athens fell 3% over the same period.
Marinakis told Bloomberg News that more than half of the shares in Capital Maritime’s public offering went to retail investors, which is of “huge significance” to him because it gives Greek citizens the opportunity to take a stake in the company. In an interview in New York, he said the listing had resolved a “historic paradox” by giving those investors access to the domestic shipping industry.
The company is the first shipping group to have a primary listing on Euronext Athens Holding SA, following the dual listings earlier this year of dry-bulk shipowners Star Bulk Carriers Corp. and Safe Bulkers Inc. The offering is the second this year by Marinakis’s holding company, Capital Maritime & Trading Corp., following the listing of Capital Tankers Corp. on the Oslo stock exchange in March.
Marinakis was in the US for the opening of the new science building at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy — which bears the name of the Marinakis family, which has made donations to the academy — as well as a performance by the Greek National Opera.
CMTC also holds a majority stake in US-listed natural gas shipping company Capital Clean Energy Carriers Corp. Marinakis also holds stakes in the football clubs Nottingham Forest, Olympiacos and Rio Ave, as well as in media group Alter Ego Media SA.