The listing marks one of the largest maritime equity offerings in Greece in recent years and further strengthens Euronext Athens as a financing venue for the shipping sector.
Star Bulk Carriers Corp. is a maritime shipping company specialising in the international seaborne transportation of dry bulk commodities using its modern and diversified fleet of dry bulk vessels. The Company’s vessels transport a broad range of major and minor bulk commodities, including iron ore, minerals and grain, bauxite, fertilizers and steel products, along worldwide shipping routes. On a fully delivered basis the Company’s fleet consists of 138 owned vessels, with an aggregate carrying capacity of 13,750,123 DWT and an average fleet age of approximately 12.5 years. Additionally, the Company’s fleet includes 7 long-term chartered-in vessels. Star Bulk Carriers Corp. was listed on Euronext Athens through the admission to trading on 15 September 2026 of the 111,671,386 existing shares making up its equity and of 4,400,000 new shares issued under the Offering.
The issue price of Star Bulk Carriers Corp. shares was set at €24.50 per share. Market capitalisation was €3.14 billion on the day of listing. The Initial Public Offering (IPO) raised a total of €107.8 million.
The Offering attracted strong demand from international institutional and retail investors, with the Global Placement 6x oversubscribed at the offer price.
Spyros Capralos, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Star Bulk Carriers Corp., said: “Today, just one day after the 150th anniversary of Euronext Athens, we are here to ring the bell on Star Bulk Carriers’ first day of trading. The public offering closed more than six times oversubscribed, with bids exceeding €656 million, demonstrating that the Greek capital market has the depth and the credibility to host the industry in which Greece leads the world.”
Petros Pappas, Founder and CEO of Star Bulk Carriers Corp., said: “I want to thank our new shareholders who trusted us and invested in our company. Today we are opening our shares to the market of the country in which this company was built. What begins today is something larger than us: a shipping ecosystem in the Greek capital market. My hope is that we will soon see the right shipping companies joining this effort, and a maritime index on Euronext Athens.”
STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP.
Opening of Trading Ceremony — Euronext Athens
Spyros Capralos, Chairman of the Board of Directors
16 September 2026
Madam Vice-Chair of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission,
Mr Vice-Chair,
Mr Boujnah, my dear friend Stéphane,
Mr Kontopoulos,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Dear friends,
Let me begin by telling you how moved I am to be standing here today — in this building where, almost twenty years ago, I had the joy and the honour, as its President, of inaugurating the new building of the Athens Exchange and celebrating its 130 years of history.
Today, just one day after the 150th anniversary we all celebrated together yesterday, we are back here to ring the bell for the first day of trading of Star Bulk Carriers on Euronext Athens.
The public offering closed more than six times oversubscribed, with bids exceeding €656 million.
This is not simply a successful offering. It is the market’s answer to a question that, until recently, remained in the air: does the Greek capital market have the depth and the credibility to host the industry in which Greece leads the world?
The answer has come back clearly.
I want to thank, by name, everyone who worked to bring us here.
• The Hellenic Capital Market Commission, for the rigour and, at the same time, the speed with which it handled an undertaking without precedent.
• The Chief Executive Officer of Euronext, Stéphane Boujnah, who was the first to believe in the idea that Greek shipping companies should be able to list at home.
• A big thank you as well to Yiannos Kontopoulos and the entire team of my former colleagues at Euronext Athens, who ran this project with speed and efficiency.
• The Joint Coordinators and Bookrunners, AXIA / Alpha Finance and the National Bank of Greece; the Underwriters — Credia Bank, Optima Bank, Pantelakis and Ambrosia — and our legal, financial and communication advisors, for their work against an extremely tight timetable.
• And, of course, the Star Bulk team, who worked so hard that we completed our listing here on Euronext Athens within just two months of taking the decision.
I do not think a listing has ever been completed on such a fast track.
Above all, however, I want to thank our new shareholders.
Thousands of retail investors and dozens of institutional portfolios placed their money and their trust in our hands.
And let’s also not forget our existing shareholders on Nasdaq, who, throughout our 20-year history, have supported us and helped us grow Star Bulk into the largest publicly listed dry bulk company.
I said only a few days ago that trust is built slowly and lost quickly.
Today, we have been given that trust.
From tomorrow, we owe it to you to earn it — every single day.
Today is a day of celebration.
But it is also a day of responsibility.
And with that responsibility in mind, I will now hand over to our CEO and the founder of Star Bulk Carriers, Mr. Petros Pappas, before we ring the bell together.
Thank you.
STAR BULK CARRIERS CORP.
Opening of Trading Ceremony — Euronext Athens
Petros Pappas, Founder and Chief Executive Officer
16 September 2026
Ladies and gentlemen,
Today we are doing something that means a great deal to all of us at Star Bulk: we are opening our shares to the market of the country in which this company was built.
We came to Athens by choice. At €24.50 we did not seek the highest possible valuation. We left room for our new shareholders to gain.
Their response exceeded all expectations:
· Six times oversubscription, 656 million euros bids!
· one in every ten active retail investors in Greece chose to put their money into Star Bulk shares!
I want to thank the Hellenic Capital Market Commission and Euronext Athens, who supported an undertaking without precedent for the Greek market. The Joint Coordinators and Bookrunners, AXIA / Alpha Finance and the National Bank of Greece, the Underwriters — CrediaBank, Optima Bank, Pantelakis and Ambrosia — and our advisers.
I want to thank the Star Bulk team. Our people here in Athens, who worked nights and weekends through the summer for this day. Above all, however, I want to thank our new shareholders who trusted us and invested in our company.
From today on we will commit our efforts to four areas:
● to support the liquidity of our share in Athens from day one;
● to maintain the lowest possible operating costs on our ships showing our respect for our shareholders money;
● to always be shareholder friendly and engage in accretive actions whenever the opportunity arises
● to be completely transparent about the company and the shipping markets
And, never forget, shipping depends on the global economy, on geopolitical developments, and on the decisions of thousands of shipowners. None of us controls the market and I will not promise our shareholders what is not within our own reach. What I can promise however, is serious work, discipline, honesty and alignment with our shareholders’ interests.
Ladies and gentlemen,
what begins today is I hope something larger than us: a shipping ecosystem in the Greek capital market. My hope is that we will soon see the right shipping companies joining this effort, and a “maritime index” on Euronext Athens.
Twenty years ago we started with eight ships in the US. Today we are starting again with 145 ships in Athens.
Thank you.
