Mr Ioannis Kaptanis > Koutalidis Law Firm > Athens, Greece > Lawyer Profile
Koutalidis Law Firm Offices

The Orbit, 115 Kifissias Ave.
Athens 115 24
Greece
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Mr Ioannis Kaptanis

Work Department
Project Finance
Banking, Finance & Restructuring
Arbitration, Litigation & Mediation
Public Procurement, Privatisations, Concessions & Public Private Partnerships
Real Estate
Position
Ioannis focuses on concession projects, project finance transactions, commercial arbitration and litigation, as well as contract negotiation. He regularly advises concessionaires and constructors on every aspect of concession and construction projects. Moreover, he advises banks and corporations on financing transactions, particularly asset backed lending transactions, derivatives and repo agreements. He is the Head of the Project Finance Department of our Firm and Co-Head of the Projects and Privatisation and Real Estate Departments of our Firm.
Ioannis is ranked as a Leading Individual in the practice area of Projects and Privatisation in Greece and as a Next Generation Partner in the practice areas of Banking, Finance & Capital Markets and of Dispute Resolution in Greece by The Legal 500 EMEA 2020. He is also ranked as Rising Star Partner by the IFLR1000.
Testimonials in The Legal 500 describe him as “very knowledgeable in the entire spectrum of Private Law, very methodical, tireless and an excellent negotiator.”
Career
Recent work includes:
- Advising NN Group on the acquisition of MetLife’s business in Greece,
- Advising GMR Airports Limited and its Greek subsidiary on the EUR 60,5 million financing by National Bank of Greece S.A. in the context of the New Kastelli (Heraklion) International Airport concession project,
- Advising DESFA on its €505 million common bond load, arranged by the four systemic banks, i.e. Alpha Bank S.A., Eurobank S.A., National Bank of Greece S.A., and Piraeus Bank S.A. where Eurobank S.A. acted as bondholder agent and administrative agent,
- Advising Alpha Bank on its Euro 500M Senior Preferred bond issuance which has a 6.5-year maturity and is callable in year 5.5 with a coupon of 2.5% and a yield of 2.625%. The bond is listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange – EuroMTF Market,
- Advising the sponsor, Aktor Concessions S.A., and the concessionaire on the concession of the exclusive right to own, use, administer, operate and exploit the Marina of Alimos for a 40-year period for a total consideration of EURO 57.5 million,
- Advising Piraeus Bank S.A., National Bank of Greece S.A., Alpha Bank S.A. and Eurobank S.A. on (i) an up to €665.6mio bond loan in connection with the 20-year extension of the Airport Development Agreement dated 31 July 1995, (ii) an up to €100mio bond loan, for the financing of capital expenditure projects (iii) an up to €140mio bond loan for the financing of working capital and operational needs,
- Advising GMR Group Limited with respect to the concession of the planned new international airport in Heraklion, Crete,
- Advising Alpha Bank on the demerger by way of hive-down of its banking sector,
- Advising Alpha Bank on matters of Greek Law on the successful issuance of a landmark Euro 500 million Tier 2 subordinated bond,
- Advising the preferred bidder (Fraport-Copelouzos consortium) with respect to the tender process for the awarded concession of the management, operation and maintenance of 14 regional airports,
- Advising Fraport and Copelouzos in relation to the sale and transfer of a 10% participation stake in the Fraport Greece entities by Slentel to Marguerite Fund,
- Advising an international consortium in relation to the tender for the privatization of Egnatia Odos Motorway,
- Advising Sponsors on Maliakos-Kleidi Project Finance,
- Advising a major Greek Bank as hedging bank in the context of Mall development projects, energy projects and PPPs in Greece and abroad,
- Advising and representing before arbitral tribunals and Greek Courts the Concessionaire of a Toll Road €1bn Concession (from the bidding stage until today),
- Representing a French energy company in an ICC Arbitration against a major Greek company with respect to contract price escalation.
Recognitions
- IFLR1000 – Project Development (Greece), Rising Star Partner, 31st Edition
- Legal 500 EMEA – Projects and Privatisation (Greece), Leading Individual, 2021, 2022
- Legal 500 EMEA – Banking, Finance and Capital Markets (Greece), Next Generation Partner, 2021, 2022
- Legal 500 EMEA – Dispute Resolution (Greece), Next Generation Partner, 2021, 2022
Languages
Greek, English, French and German.
Memberships
Member of the Athens Bar Association. Qualified to appear before all Courts of all degrees, including the Supreme Courts.
Education
University of Athens (LL.M. in Civil Law, 2006 summa cum laude)
University of Athens, School of Law (LL.B., 2003 summa cum laude)
Lawyer Rankings
Greece > Insurance
As specialists in handling share capital decreases and increases following merger completions for major insurance entities, Koutalidis Law Firm leverages its cross-departmental knowledge to advise on corporate, tax and regulatory matters. Ioannis Kaptanis and Nikos Koritsas jointly lead the practice and are experts in banking, privatisation and capital markets matters. Georgia Koutsoukou is highly knowledgeable in acquisitions and regulatory matters.
Greece > Projects and privatisation
(Leading partners)Deploying ‘very knowledgeable professionals’, the Koutalidis Law Firm practice covers all aspects of financing, operations, and maintenance, throughout the course of multi-jurisdictional renewable energy projects. The team has extensive expertise in complex debt financing matters and PPP arrangements, with the outfit displaying solid cross-sector knowledge, ranging from mining and irrigation to construction. Based in Athens, the ‘excellent’ Nikos Koritsas has vast experience in M&A and privatisations, Gregory Logothetis
focuses on international and domestic arbitration, whilst Ioannis Kaptanis concentrates on refinancings. Effie Papoutsi is a corporate finance expert, and Yiannis Kantas is also highlighted for participating in public tenders and concession projects.
Greece > Real estate and construction
Leveraging a ‘client-centric approach’, Koutalidis Law Firm predominantly specialises in handling all elements of major real estate projects in the mining and infrastructure fields, with a strong focus on the design and construction aspects. The firm shows considerable expertise in advising on PPP agreements and tender contracts, with additional knowledge in planning and zoning compliance measures. From Athens, Gregory Logothetis
and Ioannis Kaptanis jointly head the outfit, each focusing on real estate-related litigation claims before the Greek Supreme Court and complex lease agreements. Dora Karagiorgou is knowledgeable in asset deals and disposals, and both Manolis Kasotakis and Athina Xynopoulou are also cited as key.
Greece > Employment
(Firms to watch)Spearheaded by the trio of Evans Courakis, Ioannis Kaptanis and Theodora Karagiorgou, Koutalidis Law Firm specialises in all employment aspects of M&A transactions and complex takeovers.
Greece > Banking, finance and capital markets
(Leading partners)The ‘knowledgeable, insightful and resourceful’ team at Koutalidis Law Firm is characterized by its ‘strong business acumen and industry knowledge’, ensuring it is able to provide a ‘high level of service’ to creditors and debtors across a wide range of domestic and cross-border finance work. The ‘responsive’ Ioannis Kaptanis takes the lead on much of the project finance work, where he provides ‘business-oriented advice’ to lenders, concessionaires and sponsors seeking or providing finance to facilitate a number of very high-profile infrastructure deals. Effie Papoutsi excels in corporate finance work, both from a new money and refinancing perspective, with a broad-based offering which includes advice on acquisition finance and general corporate lending facilities. Nikos Koritsas is the overarching team head and has a strong grounding in capital markets-related work.
Greece > Restructuring and insolvency
Leveraging its strong overarching banking and capital markets credentials, Koutalidis Law Firm is best-known for its work on behalf of creditors and debtors in relation to out-of-court restructurings. This manifests itself in relation to a variety of different workstreams, with project finance head Ioannis Kaptanis being very active of late advising on high value and complex refinancing mandates across a range of infrastructure/transport projects; including his high-profile work for a syndicate of Greek systemic banks on the refinancing of existing debt to Athens International Airport through its issuance of an up to €1.07bn bond loan. In her role as head of corporate finance, Effie Papoutsi leverages her strong ties with banking clients – many of which she advised on the originating loan – which she then advises on subsequent refinancing work in the context of acquisition and project finance mandates, in particular. In addition she also has excellent credentials among investors in relation to NPL securitisation matters. Managing partner Nikos Koritsas co-heads the multi-disciplinary team alongside Papoutsi and Kaptanis.
Greece > Dispute resolution
(Leading partners)Regularly handling high-value disputes concerning the entire spectrum of procurement, corporate and IP matters, Koutalidis Law Firm has vast cross-sector expertise, including across the pharmaceutical, energy and aviation sectors. The team is highly experienced in multi-jurisdictional ICC arbitration and the Athens Court of Appeals proceedings. Athens-based practice head Gregory Logothetis
is noted as an ‘excellent lawyer and litigator’; Ioannis Kaptanis has extensive knowledge of complex commercial disputes; Nikitas Fortsakis oversees data protection cases; George Naskaris is highlighted for his tax expertise; and Evans Courakis concentrates on construction contract issues. Manolis Kasotakis is also noted as a key contact.
Lawyer Rankings
- Banking, finance and capital markets Greece
- Dispute resolution Greece
- Leading partners Greece > Dispute resolution
- Leading partners Greece > Banking, finance and capital markets
- Leading partners Greece > Projects and privatisation
- Projects and privatisation Greece
- Real estate and construction Greece
- Restructuring and insolvency Greece
- Insurance Greece
- Firms to watch Greece > Employment
Top Tier Firm Rankings
- Banking, finance and capital markets
- Commercial, corporate and M&A
- Dispute resolution
- Projects and privatisation
- Real estate and construction
- Restructuring and insolvency