• EUR 4bn placement adds to an exceptional year for energy ECM
• AI infrastructure, power security make energy key growth play

European equity markets have had a somewhat tricky time in 2026, battered by geopolitical instability – but a pocket of significant outperformance can be found in the energy sector.

This has coincided with a huge year for equity capital markets issuance as well.

European energy ECM issuance is at USD 12.9bn so far this year across 104 transactions, by far the best start to a year since 2017 well above 2025 and far outpacing a slight YTD gain for European ECM overall, according to Dealogic (as of 18 May).

Source: Dealogic

While European defence stocks have come off recent highs, as ECM Pulse explored last week, the backdrop for new issuance remains highly conducive as listed energy stocks continue to rise; the STOXX Europe Total Market Energy index was up 31% YTD as of 15 May.

This compares to a 1.8% increase in the Stoxx 600 since the start of the year and an 8.7% in the S&P 500, despite the recovery in the benchmark US index to fresh record highs in the past month.

Momentum in the sector is only growing.

Today (18 May), Greece’s PPC launched its EUR 4bn capital raise, a pre-announced deal to part-fund its 2030 strategic plan, an investment commitment of EUR 24bn.

This includes several exciting growth projects, including the development of a 300 MW Data Centre in Kozani, Northern Greece, by the end of 2028.

Europe has been left behind in the race for AI supremacy, with global leaders in the technology revolution emanating largely from the US, with several Chinese competitors emerging last year.

“We are starting to see businesses that typically would have been seen as industrial names become more attractive for growth investors when they are linked to data centres,” noted a banker.

But the banker added that data centres and energy infrastructure themes are the route to invest in this trend in Europe, with any equity capital markets deal in the sector attracting huge demand.

Such is the strength of the interest in the sector that private-equity giant CVC, through Aeolus Holdings, has committed to invest EUR 1.2bn as part of the offering, being undertaken over two days.

While the transaction is in the market for two days, it needed less than an hour to be covered across its full size, according to a deal note seen by ECM Pulse.

Alongside CVC, the Greek state has committed to acquiring several shares in the sale, so that it will hold 33.4% of PPC’s share capital after the completion of the capital raise. The successful completion of the PPC raise, would lift European ECM energy issuance to well above USD 17bn.

Citi, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are global coordinators on the PPC deal; Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and UBS are acting as senior joint bookrunners. Barclays, BNP, Société Générale, UniCredit, Ambrosia, Mediobanca, Jefferies are joint bookrunners.

Security issues and IPO hopes

While the development in data centres, and other AI infrastructure, is clearly a growth hook for investors, investment in European energy is a continent-wide strategic priority that has taken on more importance this year.

Whatever the outcome of the war between the US and Iran, Europe’s leaders are now fully awakened to a new reality – the global order has likely changed for good.

Alongside the frequently debated issues over Europe’s need for military autonomy, energy and power security is as much, if not more, of an imperative following the outbreak of the war in the Middle East at the end of February.

For the second time in just four years, the continent has found itself faced with an energy crisis after seeing its supply constrained by an unforeseen black swan-like conflict.

For this to happen once may be regarded as a misfortune but twice, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, looks like carelessness.

With the state of the world as it is, Europe cannot be beholden to forces over which it has no control regarding its energy and power supply. This naturally means huge scale investment across energy provision.

Equity capital markets investors are chomping at the bit to supply the vast ocean of cash that will be required, explaining their support for the PPC raise or secondary sell-downs in listed European energy businesses, such as Bpifrance’s 2% stake sale in Technip Energies after market close on 6 May.

There may also be opportunities in the IPO market, a boon for ECM professionals bemoaning the stalled pipeline of new listings since the start of the war.

Two recent German listings – Asta Energy Solutions, an Austrian producer of copper-based energy infrastructure components; and Pfisterer, a German manufacturer of power network components – show how buysiders can benefit from jumping into new sector listings.

Asta is trading around 112% above its January IPO price, while Pfisterer has risen over 300% above its debut level, set in May 2025.

The performance of both deals is remarkable given how poorly the European asset class as a whole has traded over the last year, noted a second banker.

Investors hungry for exposure to new energy listings are likely to have a keen eye on EDF’s proposed stake sale in Edison, reportedly a dual-track process with an IPO possible. Germany’s Uniper is also a frequent conversation point given discussions over the German government’s need to re-privatise the asset.

The increasing interest in European AI-aligned service and infrastructure providers could possibly tempt Bain to consider an IPO for Finnish fibre business Ahlstrom over a sale.

Meanwhile, Spanish renewables player Ignis Energy is on the road undertaking investor meetings ahead of a possible 2H IPO.

The huge support for PPC, alongside the massive institutional demand for European energy equity in 2026, is helping to keep the ECM lights on in a year that has been hampered by tumultuous global events. The strategic imperative lying behind such huge capital demands means the issuance conveyor belt is set to remain switched on for some time to come.