Meridiam Takes Control Of Cyprus Cable

France's Meridiam now owns a 66% majority stake in the Great Sea Interconnector, the subsea electricity cable meant to connect Cyprus to the European power grid for the first time. The change in ownership is clear. The contract terms that decide who carries the risk, investors or consumers, are still hidden.

Five days after the signing in Athens, there is still no public acquisition price, equity commitment, board structure, or clause explaining who pays if costs rise (Philenews, Baird Maritime). The project is estimated at around €1.9 billion (Kathimerini Cyprus). Around €657 million comes from the EU's Connecting Europe Facility, the bloc's grant programme for cross-border infrastructure. That still leaves more than €1.2 billion to be found through equity, loans, or charges added to electricity bills (Knews Kathimerini). As we reported last week, Cyprus's opposition immediately demanded disclosure, while the European Commission confirmed the deal has not yet been formally notified for merger review, the step that starts the EU competition check.

The missing risk map

The 5 August signing did two things at once: it brought Meridiam into the project and came with a parallel agreement for cable manufacturer Nexans to restart seabed surveys along the roughly 898-kilometre route (Greek PM, Balkan Green Energy News). ADMIE, Greece's grid operator, keeps 34%, technical control and future operation of the cable (Politis). Whether ADMIE also keeps veto rights over specific decisions has not been disclosed.

Both the majority investor and the cable manufacturer are now French. Moving from a single state-linked sponsor to a long-term infrastructure fund makes the project look easier to finance on paper (EUAlive). But a bankable structure is not the same thing as money in place, and no final investment decision has been taken.

Cyprus may pay first

The cost split is 63% Cyprus, 37% Greece. That puts the heavier per-capita burden on roughly one million Cypriot consumers, compared with around ten million Greek consumers (Cyprus Mail). Energy minister Michalis Damianos welcomed Meridiam's arrival but warned that the cable does not automatically mean cheaper electricity. Depending on the final terms, prices could rise (Euronews). He said Cyprus would wait for a European Investment Bank due-diligence study before deciding whether the state should participate directly (Sigmalive).

According to Politis, Nicosia was caught off guard by the Athens announcement and has not decided whether to enter the project company (Politis). Both main opposition parties, AKEL and DISY, demanded full cost data before Cyprus takes on new obligations (PafosNet).

Three gates still closed

The Turkish maritime risk that stopped seabed surveys near Kasos-Karpathos in 2024 has not gone away. No new Greek NAVTEX, the maritime safety notice needed to authorise survey work, has been confirmed (Cyprus Mail). This is not just a diplomatic detail. According to Philenews, a Greek NAVTEX could trigger two €25 million Cypriot payments to ADMIE under the existing intergovernmental arrangement (Philenews). As Les Echos put it, Meridiam brings French geopolitical weight, but it does not make a contested sea uncontested (Les Echos).

The Commission has not received a formal merger notification (CNA). The EIB study that Cyprus treats as a precondition is not finished. Meridiam's entry makes abandonment less likely and financing more plausible. It does not prove the cable will be built at the cost now being assumed. Until the EIB study, merger filing and shareholder agreement are public, Cyprus is being asked to trust a financing structure whose risk allocation it cannot see.