Alpha capital increase set for June 28
Alpha Services and Holdings, the company behind Alpha Bank, will open the book for its 800-million-euro share capital increase on June 28. The company’s annual general meeting on Tuesday approved the capital increase with an 84.9% share of votes.
A notable absentee was major shareholder John Paulson, who controls 6.42% of Alpha and had expressed his opposition to the capital increase in a Wall Street Journal article. His absence has been seen as an effort to defuse the tension regarding the necessity of the capital increase, and in no way means that Paulson will not participate in the increase.
The Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF), which controls a 10.9% stake, voted for the increase, as expected, but has not made clear whether it will use its rights or restrict itself to a holding below 10%, so as to gradually implement the policy of its disengagement from the banks.
The bulletin of the capital increase is expected to be approved by June 25, with shareholders authorizing the governing board of the company to determine the timeline of the process and its issue terms.
