OLP deal set for signing on April 8

The signing of the agreement for the transfer of the majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority (OLP) to China’s Cosco Pacific is scheduled for April 8, according to a senior source from the state privatization fund (TAIPED) that will sign the deal on behalf of Greece.

This means the signing will likely take place one week after the extraordinary general meeting of Athens-listed OLP, during which major stakeholder TAIPED will change the board members and reduce their number from 13 to 11, according to sources.

Along with the sale deal, TAIPED and Cosco will sign a shareholders’ agreement that will determine the relations between the two main stakeholders, as the state will retain a significant share of voting rights for at least the next five years.

The Cosco Group will pay 280.5 million euros to TAIPED for the initial acquisition of a 51 percent stake, while it will pay another 88 million within five years for the remaining 16 percent, provided it has implemented the agreed investments in the port. TAIPED will hold on to a 7 percent stake in OLP.

TAIPED has also invited the eight consortiums that have expressed an interest in the tender for Thessaloniki Port Authority for consultations at the end of March ahead of the relaunch of the tender for the sale of a 67 percent stake in the Athens-listed authority.