A new phase of tension appears to be emerging between Covalis Capital founder Zach Mecelis and Greek industrialist Evangelos Mytilineos, after Mecelis re-established a short position of 0.67623% in Metlen shares on 4 December. His return to short selling, only a few months after a similar move in September, immediately weighed on the stock’s performance in London, where the share closed on Friday at €40.95, down 2.73%.
Markets are now watching the opening of the Athens Stock Exchange to see whether Mytilineos, who has previously intervened to defend the stock, will respond to Mecelis’s latest position. Back in November, when Millennium Capital and Marshall Wace LLP built sizeable short exposures, Mytilineos stepped in publicly, helping to stabilize sentiment. Whether he will act again remains unclear, especially as Covalis’s current short bet is significantly smaller than the cumulative positions seen during the earlier wave.
The situation is attracting attention partly because some funds are taking an aggressive stance at a time when major international brokerages maintain “buy” recommendations on Metlen, with price targets around €63. Analysts note that the company could trade at an EV/EBITDA multiple close to 9x in the medium term—an outlook that supports optimism about Metlen’s valuation while deepening the mystery around the persistence of short sellers.
Several market observers point to Metlen’s method of joining the London Stock Exchange as a key factor behind the recent pressure. Instead of a traditional IPO, the company pursued a share-exchange listing, a structure that did not attract a sufficiently broad base of UK investors. The result has been thinner liquidity in the local market, giving short sellers an opportunity to exploit weaker demand and push the stock lower.
In this environment, funds like Covalis have room to pursue more aggressive strategies, sustaining friction with Metlen’s management and leaving investors braced for the next move. The backdrop also presents fresh challenges for Metlen’s new CEO, Christos Gavallas, who must work to strengthen trading liquidity, broaden the company’s investor base in London, and coordinate effectively with market makers to maintain a tight bid–ask spread and ensure adequate depth on both sides of the order book.
