Greek buyout firm Marfin Investment Group (MIG) said yesterday it was not taking an interest in Greek construction firms, as they lie outside its investment strategy. The announcement came after a meeting between representatives of MIG and construction firm Diekat, which had approached MIG for a possible deal. On Monday, Dubai Financial LLC, a government-controlled investment company in the United Arab Emirates, increased its stake in MIG to about 16 percent from 9.1 percent, buying about 53.5 million shares of MIG at 7 euros apiece. MIG is seeking to become Southeast Europe’s biggest buyout fund through acquisitions of healthcare, leisure, energy, utilities and real estate companies in countries from Albania to Russia.

Growth in Greece’s manufacturing sector accelerated in March with the purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rising slightly to 52.7 from 52.4 in February, a monthly survey showed yesterday. The 50 mark separates contraction from growth. The PMI provides a snapshot of operating conditions in manufacturing. “Greek manufacturers continued to expand production at their plants in March, although the rate of increase eased slightly from the previous month,” NTC Research said. “Nevertheless, output growth remained robust, underpinned by a strong rise in volumes of incoming new business.” (Reuters)

Turkish exports rose 23 percent year-on-year in March to $10.95 billion, the Turkish Exporters Association (TIM) said yesterday. The TIM figures come almost a month ahead of official data, which they tend to match. Exports rose 43.9 percent to $11.016 billion and imports climbed 40.1 percent to $15.942 billion. Official data on Monday showed the trade deficit – a major component of the closely watched current account gap – widened 32 percent to $4.927 billion in February. (Reuters)

Investment fund Dias will acquire Global New Europe Fund in an all-share deal to create a common investment company with a net asset value of 147.5 million euros ($231.4 million). Shareholders of Global New Europe will receive 3.64 new registered Dias shares for each Global share they hold, Global said today in a bourse filing. The joint company will be Greece’s “largest company in the area of portfolio investments,” according to the statement. (Bloomberg)

Construction company Terna, a member of the GEK Group, is holding preliminary talks with businesses including Belgium’s Electrabel SA to find a partner for its power-plant unit Heron SA. “Heron is considering various cooperation options with other companies including Electrabel,” Terna said in a bourse filing. (Bloomberg)

Supermarket chain AB Vassilopoulos has completed the acquisition of Plus Hellas, a relative newcomer to the retail scene from Germany, with 34 stores, for 69.5 million. All Plus stores will be renamed as AB.