The island’s Hellenic Bank is now in the hands of Greek and Greek Cypriot major shareholders following Thursday’s deal for acquisition of the 13.4% stake of Byelorussia’s Wargaming Group Ltd.
Eurobank, one of Greece’s largest lenders, has agreed to acquire the additional 13.4% stake in Cypriot Hellenic Bank from Wargaming Group Ltd for 70 million euros.
The deal provides that the Eurobank group, which operates in Cyprus through its company – Eurobank Cyprus – focusing on business banking becomes the largest shareholder of Hellenic Bank.
This is a position currently held by Dimitra Investment which has a 21.3% share.
And once the purchase goes through, Wargaming’s share will be reduced to 7.2%.
Philenews also reported the fact that Eurobank is becoming a major shareholder in Hellenic is a relief, according to supervisory sources.
Afterall, supervisors in Cyprus, Greece and Frankfurt were aware of Eurobank’s movements and raised no objections. In fact, they are expected to formally give the green light soon.