Inspire Athens awarded Elliniko casino concession
The Inspire Athens consortium was announced as the concessionaire for Elliniko casino by the Hellenic Gaming Commission on Friday.
Following final approval of the contract by the state’s Court of Audit, the consortium will pay €150 million to the state.
Inspire Athens is 100% owned by listed Greek construction group GEK Terna, while the necessary casino operating experience required by the terms of the competition is provided by Mohegan.
The two sides, GEK Terna and Mohegan, recently reached an agreement to form the new concession vehicle, in which the US company’s role is to provide experience in managing an integrated casino complex.
However, the entry of a new shareholder into the consortium is expected to follow soon. Thus, on the foot of discussions that have already taken place, it is expected that before the end of this year GEK Terna will cede a majority stake to the Hard Rock consortium, which would then replace Mohegan as the entity providing the management experience.
GEK Terna’s only contractual obligation is to keep at least 35% of the share capital of Inspire Athens in its control for the next eight years.
In addition to winning the bid for the gaming licence, the Inspire Athens consortium also holds a €1 billion contract for the construction of an integrated complex casino around two main towers of 200 and 100 meters height, respectively.
The complex will include a luxury, 120,000-square meter hotel of 3,450 beds, a conference and exhibition center of 23,700 sq.m. and a sports and cultural center with a capacity for 10,500 people that could host anything from concerts to soccer games.
