Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Metlen on its £6 billion London listing, largest London primary listing of the year and largest listing of a European business in London since 2017

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised Metlen Energy & Metals, a global energy and metals group based in Greece with operations in over 40 countries, on its corporate redomiciliation from Greece to the UK, with a new UK-incorporated company becoming the holding company of the group (Metlen Energy & Metals PLC), with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and a secondary listing on the Athens Stock Exchange.

Metlen expects to be admitted to the FTSE 100 as early as September 2025, with a market capitalisation currently at €6.71 billion (c.£6 billion). If successfully admitted to the FTSE 100, Metlen will be the first company in over a year to enter directly into the index through a primary listing.

Metlen Energy & Metals is an integrated energy and metals business operating across three segments (energy, metallurgy, as well as infrastructure and concessions). The group's synergistic business model has allowed Metlen to grow from its origins as a family business founded in Greece in 1908 to a global industrial giant whose market capitalisation has more than tripled in the period of 2021-2024. Metlen has subsequently become Greece's largest home-grown company and is targeting further growth through investment into the renewable energy market and supply of critical strategic minerals as well as through the European defence sector.

In a continued commitment to its history, Metlen is retaining a listing on the Athens Stock Exchange and its shares will continue to be denominated in Euros, making it one of the first companies to take advantage of new rules that allow shares not denominated in GBP to be included in the FTSE UK indices.

Clifford Chance acted as international legal counsel to Metlen, assisting in the establishment of the group's new parent company, Metlen Energy & Metals PLC, its acquisition of the existing Greek listed company, Metlen Energy & Metals S.A., by way of a takeover offer under the Greek takeover regime and the subsequent restructuring in preparation for the London listing, as well as the dual listing process. The team advised and supported Metlen through all stages of this corporate transformation, helping the group transition to a new structure more aligned to its international footprint which now enables Metlen to broaden its international shareholding on the most liquid exchange in Europe.

Simon Thomas commented:

Metlen's corporate redomicilation and London listing is a very significant milestone and a central part of its strategy to take advantage of opportunities for growth. It is also a hugely important transaction for the London market, being the largest listing of a European business in London since 2017. In addition, Metlen will become the first company to enter FTSE's UK indices with shares denominated in Euros, signalling the continued attractiveness of the UK for global companies to list.

The Clifford Chance team was led by partner Simon Thomas, London Head of Capital Markets, with support from senior associate James Koessler. The core team also included associates Radhika Sharma and Inês Teixeira and trainee solicitors Rumana Ali, Sam Winton and Keith Minami.

Wider transactional support was given by partners Andrew Patterson (Incentives), Amy Bird (Employment), Timothy Lees (Restructuring), Nicola Hemsley (Tax), James Bole (Takeovers), Michael Lyons (Litigation) and George Kleinfeld (Litigation), directors Juliette Graham (Incentives) and Rui Ho (Takeovers), senior associate Bethan Lovett (Litigation), and associates Ella Burnside (Employment), Leon Kidd (Incentives), Isabel Lewis (Restructuring) and Wanipa Ndhlovu (Tax).