By E. Sakellari
National Bank (NBG) will continue negotiations with China-based Fosun and Gongbao for the sale of the former’s insurance subsidiary, Ethniki Asfalistiki, according to reports on Wednesday evening.
The same reports state that NBG’s board of directors took the decision instead of declaring another international tender for the company. Nevertheless, such a process will probably be unavoidable if NBG fails to receive a satisfactory offer from either one of the two Chinese multinationals within the next two months or so.
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.
