Eurobank expands its holding in Hellenic
Eurobank is gaining control of Hellenic Bank after purchasing Wargaming’s 13.4% stake. With the addition of the 12.6% it held from the purchase of all shares in Third Point Hellenic Recovery Fund in the summer of 2021, it now controls 26%.
Eurobank Bank has agreed to purchase a 13.41% stake (55,337,721 shares) in Hellenic Bank Public Company Ltd for a total consideration of 70 million euros.
As a result of this transaction, Wargaming retains a 7.8% stake in Hellenic Bank, after previously owning 20.2% of the company. Kathimerini Cyprus understands Wargaming kept this stake in order to sell it at a later date, possibly at a higher price.
Wargaming owns 20.2% of Hellenic Bank, which equates to 83.3 million shares out of Hellenic Bank’s total number of issued shares (412 million is the number of issued shares of Hellenic). Based on Kathimerini’s calculations, the bank may have wanted to buy about 56 million shares from Wargaming on Wednesday, so taking into account the price at which Hellenic shares closed on Tuesday (€1.24), the “deal” would amount to about €70 million. In the end, the transaction cost $70 million, and 55 million shares were purchased.
Eurobank still needs 4% to fully control Hellenic Bank.
According to sources close to domestic regulators, Eurobank’s continued operations for Hellenic have their full approval, Eurobank being a stakeholder with banking experience.
Eurobank sources told Kathimerini that with this move, the bank is demonstrating its confidence in the Cypriot economy in practice. When Eurobank purchased the stake in Third Point, it stated that the investment was in line with the Eurobank Group’s strategy to strengthen its presence in all key markets in which it has a strategic interest.
A similar statement was made in the Wargaming deal: “This investment is aligned with Eurobank Group’s strategy to further strengthen its presence in all key markets in which it has a strategic interest and is a vote of confidence in the Cypriot economy.”
According to Hellenic Bank sources, the development is positive because it demonstrates a vote of confidence in Hellenic by a major Greek banking institution.
