TAIPED, Emma Delta sign OPAP privatization deal
A 652-million-euro agremement foreseeing the transfer of 33 percent of state-controlled betting firm OPAP to the Greek-Czech investment consortium Emma Delta was signed on Monday in the presence of Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras.
The businessman Dimitris Melissanidis signed on behalf of Emma Delta and Stelios Stavridis, the head of Greece’s privatization fund (TAIPED) Stelios Stavridis signed on behalf of the state.
The signing came more than three months after the selloff was approved by the government following in-depth discussions about the terms of the deal.
Last week the Remote Gambling Association (RGA) filed an injunction to the State Audit Council against the government’s decision to approve the privatization of 33 percent of OPAP. In the 100-page suit, the RGA argued that the State Audit Council had approved the OPAP sale without waiting for a European Commission ruling on whether the ceding of the exclusive right for online betting constitutes state aid.
