NEW YORK-Hellenic Tele-communications Organization S.A., a multiservice carrier headquartered in Athens, went public Nov. 2 with a 43.8 million-share stock sale that raised $1.1 billion.
Salomon Smith Barney and Credit Suisse First Boston were lead underwriters of the initial public offering, in which the government of Greece sold 10 percent of its stake in Hellenic.
The company offers public telephone services on an exclusive basis throughout the country. Domestic and international telecommunications constitute the core business of Hellenic, which has about 5.5 million access lines in operation.
However, the carrier also provides mobile wireless telephony, paging, Integrated Services Digital Network features, Internet and data services and leased lines and equipment sales.
Investors in Greece were allocated 30 percent of the IPO, whose shares are listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.
Hellenic Telecommunications became the first Greek company to list on the New York Stock Exchange, where the balance of its public equity began trading last week as American Depository Shares, each representing one-half of a common stock share. Its symbol on the Big Board is “OTE.”
