Greece picks advisers on bank stake sales
July 29, 2010
Greece will hire Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley as advisers on the offer it has received from Piraeus Bank <BOPr.AT> to buy government stakes in ATEbank <AGBr.AT> and Hellenic Postbank <GPSr.AT>, Greek daily To Vima said on Thursday.
The finance ministry would not confirm or deny the banks would be involved and said it was still in the process of choosing advisers.
"The process is ongoing and the decision on the advisers will be finalised by the privatisations committee when it is completed," a ministry official, who declined to be named, said.
Piraeus Bank, Greece's fourth-largest lender, has offered 701 million euros in cash ($916 million) to buy 77.3 percent in ATEbank and 33 percent in Hellenic Postbank (TT).
The offer, announced on July 15, sparked a rally in the banking sector, battered by the country's debt crisis. The government has said it will seriously assess the bid.
Greek banks face a tough economic environment, with non-performing loans on the rise due to the recession at home. Their access to wholesale funding in the interbank market has been shut as a result of Greece's debt crisis.
ATEbank failed the European stress test last week while Piraeus barely passed.
Piraeus Bank <BOPr.AT> has said it will spell out in due course how it will raise capital to fund the acquisition of the stakes. [ID:nLDE66P1KN].
There have been press reports that it is looking to raise at least 1 billion euros for the purpose.
(Financial Mirror.com)