Evangelos Marinakis on CPLP’s bond listing at the Athens Stock Exchange: “Green investments are the future”

“We have been engaged with financial markets since 2007 when we were first listed in New York at the Nasdaq stock exchange. Since then we have paid more than $800 million in dividends to our investors” Evangelos Marinakis, the Founder and President of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp. said today, on the occasion of the listing of CPLP’s bond on the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX).

Marinakis, a mainstay of Lloyd’s List’s annual ‘Power 100’ ranking of the most influential people in shipping worldwide for the past decade added:

“We successfully weathered very severe crises, always with respect towards our investors; we enjoy a very good reputation as we coped under very difficult conditions, succeeding not only to manage crises, but to also emerge victorious. We have, in fact, grown through these crises!”

In reference to the current political and economic situation in Greece, Capital’s home base, Marinakis noted that “in Greece something is moving to the right direction, there is an increasing sense of confidence towards Greece and foreign investors come and invest in the country; that’s why the Greek stock market and the Hellenic Capital Market Commission should be particularly diligent, especially with bonds, because all investors must feel confident and be protected. What is necessary, therefore, is for them to be particularly careful in terms of which companies are listed on the Greek stock exchange.”

Marinakis, who continuously features among the most prominent global shipowners, promoting “green” energy and eco-friendly shipping investments, again referred to the specter of climate change, stressing that “green investments are the future … we saw the wildfires over the summer; climate conditions have changed, and the task of environmental protection is not only the responsibility of governments. We must all contribute; we need to invest in green energy because it is the future, the future of our children.”

He added “we were very lucky to start this, together with Costamare a very reliable company with very good reputation” and he added “Let ATHEX continue to attract trustworthy companies with good reputation”.

Referring specifically to the role of ocean-going shipping, he pointed out that “through shipping, millions of tons of cargo are transported, and there is evidence proving that this kind of transportation is much cleaner compared to others.”

Socrates Lazaridis: It is an honor to list the CPLP bond on ATHEX

“It’s an honor to list the CPLP bond on the ATHEX,” said the CEO of the Athens Exchange group, Socrates Lazaridis, at the beginning of the event. He added that “it is a great pleasure to feature one of the most important shipping companies in the world on the Athens Stock Exchange.” He noted that he hopes to continue this process for “the good of shipping and the stock market”, thanking the company’s management for listing the bond.

G. Kalogiratos: We thank Greek retail investors for the trust they’ve shown us

The CEO of CPLP, Mr. Gerasimos (Jerry) Kalogiratos, after thanking all those involved in the issue, said: “We are very satisfied with the over-subscription of the CPLP bond and our listing on the Athens Stock Exchange. We thank the Greek investing community for the trust they have shown us. The success of the transaction leaves an important legacy to our company but also to future issuers, as it shows the efficiency of the Greek capital markets and the lively interest of Greek investors in reliable companies. “CPLP has a long-term investment plan that focuses on technologically advanced ships with innovative elements, thus contributing to ‘green’ growth.”

V. Lazarakou: CPLP is a company that adapts to the standards and demands of green growth.

The president of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, Vasiliki Lazarakou, stressed the importance of listing trustworthy companies in the ATHEX, pointing out that CPLP comes to the Greek market after having won investor’s trust internationally. Capital markets worldwide move towards the aim of integrating ESG criteria and CPLP is a company that adapts to the standards and demands of green growth, which is appreciated by the investor community, as is well proven by the over-subscription of the issue by more than five times.

K. Papastavrou: We welcome an important industry of the Greek economy

At the same time, Kalliopi Papastavrou, Director of the Securities & Issuance Division of the ATHEX Market Operations and Development Directorate, said, regarding the listing of the CPLP Shipping bond on the Greek Stock Exchange: “We welcome shipping, as an important industry of the Greek economy. The confidence it shows in the Greek capital markets is important. We hope that we will honor the confidence of the Greek shipowners in the Greek Stock Exchange “.

Beyond expectations

The code of the Bond is “CPLPB1”. The starting price of the Company’s Bonds is € 1,000 per Bond, i.e. 100% of its nominal value.

It is noted that the issuance of the bond, amounting to 150 million euros, set a record for bond subscription in Greece.

Registered offers exceeded 800 million euros, as announced by the main coordinators of the public offer, “PIRAEUS BANK”, “ALPHA BANK” and “EUROXX SECURITIES SA” and Optima Bank.

In particular, the total valid demand expressed by investors, who participated in the Public Offering, amounted to 801.37 million euros, marking an overrun of the Issue by 5.3 times with very significant interest from private and institutional investors.

The record-setting success of the issue is due, in large part, to the significant commercial size of the broader Marinakis-owned shipping group. CPLP announced that it aims to use the 150 million euros raised to partly finance a “green” strategic business plan totaling 1.2 billion euros, in order to boost its fleet with state-of-the-art, environmentally-friendly LNG carriers, which also use LNG as propulsion fuel.

The technologically advanced newbuilding vessels are chartered on long-term contracts to major energy companies, such as BP, ENGIE and Cheniere.

The CPLP fleet will increase to 22 vessels with acquisitions funded by the bond issue, including 15 Neo-Panamax container vessels, one Capesize bulk carrier and six LNG carriers.