Athens Stock Exchange - best performance in the last 25 years

The offer by pan-European stock exchange operator Euronext to acquire all shares of the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) has boosted trading activity, making the Greek market the second-best performer in the world this year, Greek publication To Vima reports.

The Athens Stock Exchange has posted its strongest August performance in 25 years, with trading volumes and investor interest rising after Euronext announced its intention to take over.

The offer, valued at over 410 million euros, is seen as a vote of confidence in the Greek capital market. Investors expect the deal to integrate Athens into the pan-European Euronext network. In addition, the deal will increase the visibility and attractiveness of the Greek financial market, analysts say, and Greek investors will thus have access to a network of over 1,800 listed companies, with a combined market capitalization exceeding 6,000 billion euros.

The Athens Stock Exchange index rose from 1,885 points on July 1 to 2,039 points on August 1, while daily trading volumes rose from 48.3 million to 63.4 million shares. On August 6 and 7, turnover reached 88.6 million euros and 83.1 million euros, respectively, more than double the daily average of 33 million euros in June. In the first seven months of this year, the Athens Stock Exchange index rose by 35.7%, the second-largest increase globally among the 75 major stock market indices. The stock exchange has recorded five consecutive years of growth, with cumulative gains of 146.6% and an average annual increase of almost 20% - far outperforming benchmarks such as the MSCI ACWI and the STOXX Europe 600.

Trading activity has also been solid, with average daily turnover reaching euro259.7 million in March and holding steady at euro224.8 million in July. Foreign investors remain a dominant force, consistently holding around two-thirds of the market capitalisation, underscoring sustained international confidence in the prospects for the Greek stock market.

Euronext's revised offer of euro7.14 per ATHEX share represents a 19% premium to the closing price on 30 June and a 27% premium to the three-month average price before the takeover announcement.