Greece tapped international markets on Tuesday with a landmark sovereign bond sale, raising €4 billion through a new 10-year bond maturing in June 2036, priced at a yield of 3.47%, according to the country’s Public Debt Management Agency (PDMA).
Investor appetite proved exceptionally strong, with total demand exceeding €49.5 billion, implying an oversubscription ratio of around 12.4 times. This was the largest order book ever recorded for a comparable syndicated bond issue by the Greek state and enabled the issuer to secure significantly more favourable pricing than initially indicated to the market.
The bond was ultimately priced around 40 basis points lower than a comparable 10-year Greek bond issued at the same time last year, highlighting the continued improvement in Greece’s credit standing and growing confidence among global investors in the country’s economic outlook. Proceeds from the transaction cover approximately half of Greece’s planned borrowing needs for 2026.
Demand was predominantly international. Investors from the United Kingdom and Ireland accounted for the largest share, absorbing 45% of the issue. This was followed by Germany and Austria with 11%, the United States with 7%, France with 4%, Italy and the Nordic countries with 3% each, and Greek investors with 5%. A further 5% was allocated to investors from the Iberian Peninsula, while other European countries accounted for 8%. The remaining 4% went to investors outside these regions, bringing the share placed with foreign investors to 95% of the total.
In terms of investor type, asset managers dominated the allocation, receiving 65% of the bonds. Banks took 22%, while insurance companies and pension funds accounted for 4%. Hedge funds also received 4%, official institutions and central banks took 2%, and the remaining 3% was distributed among other investors.
The transaction was led by BNP Paribas, BofA Securities, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe SE, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley. Underwriting fees totalled 0.175% of the nominal value, or €7 million. Legal services were provided by Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP, Allen Overy Shearman Sterling LLP, and Koutalidis Law Firm, with total legal fees capped at €320,000.
