Alpha secures private funds for its share capital increase
Alpha Bank confirmed on Thursday that it has secured guarantees from foreign firms for the full coverage of the private portion of its share capital increase, thereby ensuring the successful implementation of its recapitalization and the maintenance of the group’s private character, as all main local lenders aim to complete the procedure in the next five weeks.
It will probably be Alpha that starts the process first, having already announced the terms of its increase, while National and Piraeus will follow, all by June 10. The period for the exercise of rights will range between two and three weeks for each lender so that by mid-June the trading of the new shares can start. Along with the new shares, the trading of the warrants for the purchase of shares will also begin.
Alpha announced that the 10 percent portion of its increase required from private sources will be covered by JP Morgan, Citigroup, HSBC and Credit Agricole CIB.
Alpha will issue 10,388,636,364 new common shares, out of which 1,038,863,636, or 10 percent, will go into private hands while the rest will be acquired by the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF).
Alpha shareholders will then be able to use their warrants to acquire the shares from the HFSF in the next four-and-a-half years.
Piraeus Bank has also secured the coverage of 10 percent of its increase from strategic investors, as Millennium bcp of Portugal will pay 400 million euros and Societe Generale will offer 170 million.
National Bank has mobilized to get its own increase covered through attracting new investors and the participation of old ones as well as its own clients.
Eurobank, which is 84 percent-owned by National, is not planning to compete with its parent group for investors and will pass instead to the full control of the HFSF, with a view to being sold to private investors later this year, following its recapitalization.
