Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) has introduced new regulatory adjustments connected to Euronext’s ongoing public offer for the acquisition of Hellenic Exchanges S.A. (ATHEX Group).
The decision, numbered 6/1065/9.10.2025, was published in the Government Gazette on Wednesday and updates the framework governing how the regulator evaluates the “fitness and propriety” of shareholders with significant stakes in key market infrastructures such as the Athens Stock Exchange, the central counterparty ATHEXClear, and the Central Securities Depository.
The new rules are designed to make the evaluation process more flexible, particularly for large, EU-supervised financial groups such as Euronext. Under the revised framework, the HCMC will be able to tailor the depth of its assessment and the level of documentation required according to the size and nature of the investor and the transaction. In practical terms, this means that an established, regulated entity like Euronext will not have to submit an entirely new application file from scratch, unlike an unsupervised investor or private individual.
The decision also allows the HCMC to rely on information already held by other European supervisory authorities—such as France’s Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) or the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM)—as well as on public registries and previous regulatory assessments. This measure is intended to speed up the approval process and avoid unnecessary repetition of due diligence already performed elsewhere in the European Union.
These changes are particularly relevant as Euronext awaits approval for its public offer to acquire a controlling interest in Hellenic Exchanges. Should the offer proceed, the pan-European exchange operator would gain a “qualifying holding” not only in ATHEX but also in its regulated subsidiaries. Before such a transaction can be completed, Greek law requires the HCMC to approve the new shareholder, assessing its solvency, reputation, managerial competence, and overall compliance with European supervisory standards.
The Commission’s latest decision also introduces “reduced information requirements” for EU-supervised entities. Companies falling under this category will now need to provide only the essential details, depending on whether the shareholder is an individual or a corporation and on the size of the stake they intend to acquire—whether below or above 20 percent. If a shareholder has already been evaluated by the HCMC within the previous two years, only updated information must be submitted. In cases where no changes have occurred, a formal declaration confirming that the data remain unchanged will suffice. Applicants may also submit supporting documents in stages until the full application is complete.
Market observers view these amendments as a practical alignment of Greek regulation with European supervisory guidelines (JC/GL/2016/01), as well as a move that facilitates Euronext’s pending assessment. Since the company is already regulated by EU authorities and operates major exchanges in Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin, Milan, Lisbon, and other European capitals, the HCMC will now be able to rely on existing oversight information without imposing redundant requirements.
Despite the procedural streamlining, the HCMC retains the authority to block any acquisition of a qualifying holding if it determines that the transaction could pose risks to financial stability or raise concerns about the acquirer’s integrity or solvency.
