The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) announced on Thursday that it has concluded the sale of all the shares it held in Piraeus Financial Holdings.
The public offer, which was successfully concluded, attracted strong interest from both Greek and foreign investors, with the total value of the transaction reaching 1.35 billion euros.
The success of the sale of 27% of Piraeus Bank’s shares to foreign and Greek investors is unprecedented, National Economy and Finance Minister Kostis Hatzidakis said after the sale of Piraeus Bank’s shares was completed.
“It is not just the fact it was oversubscribed by eight times. It is also the prices offered. The sale price of the shares was set at levels higher than the closing price of the Athens Stock Exchange last Friday, before the start of the process. This is extremely rare worldwide, as in such cases of mass distribution of shares the prices are almost always set at a discount in favour of the buyers,” the minister added.
“One should also not forget the very difficult position Piraeus Bank was in in 2019. This underlines even more the magnitude of today’s success. Our banking system is turning the page. From the time of the crisis and the recapitalisations, to a time when high-quality investors are expressing their interest in all systemic Greek banks, as was seen in the last months.
The latest developments reward the strategy of the management of the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund, which prepared and organised the process with efficiency. They also underline the correctness of the government’s choices, not only for the way and the time that the state’s disinvestment proceeded, but also more generally for the banking system itself. And they are, ultimately, a very serious national success,” Hatzidakis pointed out.
SOURCE; ANA-MPA
