National Bank of Greece (NBG) board members are expected to decide on Wednesday whether a second phase of ongoing international tender to sell-off the bank’s insurance subsidiary, Ethniki Asfalistiki, will continue or whether the process will be declared null and void – with a new tender declared.
If the current process continues, then negotiations will Chinese multinational Fosun will commence. The latter placed the second highest bid for the insurance provider.
A previous agreement to sell a majority stake of the Ethniki Asfalistiki to Netherlands-based Exin collapsed last February when Calamos Family Partners filed a lawsuit against Exin Financial Services, one of the two parties in the Exin investment scheme. Calamos Partners has demanded 41 million euros in a lawsuit filed in a US federal court.
The tender’s terms do not include any provision on what process will be followed in case negotiations collapse with the first preferred bidder, which in this case is Exin.
According to reports, Fosun wants exclusive negotiating rights over the coming period, although the NBG side has not committed to such a prospect.
The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) a special purpose vehicle created to help stabilize the Greek banking sector, holds a major stake in NBG.
