
Marios Sophroniou as head of the investment banking activities of the Bank in Greece had full and sole responsibility for the Bank’s dual listing on the Athens Stock Exchange (it was already listed on the Cyprus Stock Exchange) and capital increase of c. $500 million – at the time the biggest capital increase on the Athens Stock Exchange.
Actions undertaken by Marios Sophroniou for the Bank of Cyprus:
• With the support of a leading Greek law firm drafted and passed through the Parliament of the Hellenic Republic a bill which allowed a foreign company already listed on a different stock exchange to be listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.
• Worked with the Athens and Cyprus Stock Exchanges, in which the stock would be traded simultaneously, on how this would undertaken as also how the stock transactions would be processed and settled
• Liaised with institutional investors and stockbrokers to ascertain investors’ attitudes (institutional and individual) and thus ensure the best positioning of the Bank’s listing
• Selected underwriting syndicate based on merits of each bank to ensure the widest and deepest investor coverage
• In addition to organizing the necessary road show for the Bank, held one-to-one meetings with institutional investors and
banking analysts to educated them fully on the operations and strategy of the Bank and merits of its investment story
• Advised the Board of the Bank on the timing of the listing and capital increase, and executed the action
• Ensured the smooth aftermarket performance of the listing by managing directly the shares allotted for this purpose.
The listing of the Bank was over-subscribed several times, aftermarket performance was consistently strong and throughout the period of the bank’s dual listing, there were never any price-differential, settlement etc. issues.