Expression of interest in acquiring 27% of its Bank of Piraeuswhich currently controls the HFSF introduced it private equity fund ION Groupwho is active in the field of technology. It is an Italian-based fund led by Andrea Pignataro who has reportedly been eyeing Piraeus Bank for some time and for this reason visited Athens late last week.

The Expression of Interest was filed following its CEO’s contacts with government officials, whose sources describe the relative interest as “strong” as ION, after a series of acquisitions at the forefront of the fintech sector, seeks a banking license to expand in the industry and develop its activities in the Balkans. .

Interest was formally expressed by HFSF in a letter over the weekend and was reportedly accompanied by a financial offer of €1.34 per share, i.e. at a premium over the price of the bank. It should be noted that Piraeus shares closed yesterday at 1.202 euros, recording an increase of 4.52%. The total price offered for 27% of Piraeus Bank’s share capital is EUR 452.4 million.

The Italian group is reported to hold assets worth 16 billion euros through acquisitions of a total of 32 companies, which it has carried out in recent years with a focus on technology companies.

The Italian group is reported to hold €16 billion worth of assets through the acquisition of a total of 32 companies.

ION’s interest comes at a time when banks are in the midst of defining policies to reduce HFSF investments. As you know, the fund has hired Rothschild as a consultant, who is expected to prepare a disinvestment report by the end of November. And while like competent sources explain “K”., The Fund is not going to open the issue of Piraeus Bank until the relevant report, which will determine the options on the basis of which the Fund will withdraw from the banks in which it has a stake. This follows from the Fund’s statement yesterday, which notes that “any expression of interest received must be assessed in full compliance with the HFSF divestment strategy, which, once finalized, will be submitted to the Treasury for review. prior consent.”

Today, HFSF controls 40.3% of the National Bank, 27% of Piraeus Bank, 9% of Alpha Bank, 1.4% of Eurobank and 62.93% of Attica Bank.

The request, according to the same sources, is to ensure a competitive process so that if there are other interested parties, they will be given the opportunity to submit a competitive offer. How this will be done will be indicated in the Rothschild report, which, as required by law, will include a general program for the disposal of shares held by the Fund, as well as more specific instructions for lending institutions.

This will be followed by the selection of an implementation consultant, as has already been done in the case of the National Bank with the appointment of Goldman Sachs, who will determine the terms, method of implementation of the shares and schedule. Recall that in the case of the National Bank, the selection process for a disposal consultant was initiated in the context of a formal expression of interest submitted by the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund to acquire 20% of the bank. Discussions with the HFSF have become exclusive, with the Fund undertaking to hold no relevant, at least formal, discussions with any other interested party until the end of November. To date, it has not been clarified whether Goldman Sachs can act as a liquidation advisor to Piraeus Bank due to interest shown by ION Group.