HFSF to Sell 10% Shares in NBG
The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), a Greek special purpose vehicle created to help stabilise the Greek banking sector amidst the Greek government-debt crisis, on Monday issued an invitation for the public offering of a 10% share in the National Bank of Greece (NBG) and the price range of the placement is between $8.17 and $8.9 per offer share.
The public offering period in Greece will last three days and it will be carried out through electronic book building, starting at 10 am (Greek time) on September 3 and closing at 4 pm (Greek time) on October 2.
The Fund said that the Board of Directors of HFSF on September 28 approved, inter alia, the disposal of a stake of 10% shareholding in National Bank of Greece, corresponding to 91,471,515 existing common registered dematerialised voting shares, listed on the regulated market of the Athens Stock Exchange (ATHEX) with a nominal value of $1.12 each in the share capital of NBG, at an offering price ranging between $8.17 and $8.9 per offer share, which is expected to fetch up to $812 million.
The shares will be offered to retail or qualified investors in Greece and to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers in the US and selected institutional investors outside of Greece, the Fund said.
The offer price for each offer share is expected to be determined pursuant to a resolution of the board of directors of the selling shareholder after the close of the period of the book-building process.
HFSF also said that it can, at its sole and absolute discretion, upon resolutions of its Board of Directors, decide to (in no particular order of priority) determine and publicly announce a narrower range within the price range and/or determine a price point guidance.
According to a report, HFSF holds an 18.4% stake in NBG, Greece’s second largest lender by market value, besides holding of approximately 70% in Attica Bank.
The remainder shares held by HFSF in National Bank of Greece will be transferred to Greece’s sovereign wealth fund. The Fund sold its holdings in Eurobank, Alpha Bank, Piraeus Bank and part of its stake in NBG earlier this year and late in 2023.
Economic Benefits
These divestments by HFSF will benefit the Greek economy as a whole by increasing the free float of the Greek banks that should further boost the domestic capital markets’ liquidity and efficiency, by providing more opportunities for foreign direct investment in the Greek banking sector at scale and by demonstrating pro-actively the progress towards re-establishing a banking sector under fully private ownership.
HFSF Chairman Andreas Verykios said in the past that divestment is a particularly important and complex process which will be executed with full respect for the principles of transparency and efficiency in the interest of the Greek economy.
“The Fund will be called upon to make decisions striking a balance between decision-making speed and economic efficiency during times of economic uncertainty. The fact that all stakeholders have agreed on the Divestment strategy guarantees that the project will be implemented with credibility and an unwavering commitment to the public interest,” he added.
