ECONOMY

Ethniki sale process open to all suitors

Ethniki sale process open to all suitors

The new tender for the sale of leading insurer Ethniki will be open to all suitors after the first process attracted interest only from Chinese groups Fosun, Gongbao and Wintime.

Parent group National Bank of Greece chose to go this route in order to avert any negative developments concerning the procedure’s legality that might have emerged in the event that negotiations were only held with Fosun – the new favorite for the transaction – after the failure of talks with the Exin group.

According to sources, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) insisted on this approach, as the main stakeholder in NBG. It argued that opening up the process to the full set of interested parties would not only secure transparency – averting any disputes by the other suitors – but would also increase competition so as to secure a higher price.

The tender will therefore be open to the three companies that had originally expressed an interest in the previous procedure.

Their final number will become certain in the coming days, with the opening of the data rooms.

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