Sklavenitis gets a step closer to Marinopoulos

The completion of the acquisition of Marinopoulos supermarkets by Sklavenitis edged a step closer on Wednesday after the publication of a decision by the competent court in Athens that approved the agreement for the streamlining of the country’s biggest retail chain.

The court accepted the main points of the deal and has only asked for some minor changes that do not affect the essence of the agreement. The verdict shows no intention to punish the Marinopoulos family.

The next steps in the process are overcoming the contract’s annulment clause – due to the delay in the verdict’s issue – and securing the approval of the competition authorities in Greece and Cyprus for the Sklavenitis group’s absorption of Marinopoulos.

Sources familiar with the agreement say that seven alternative scenarios are being studied with the aim of overcoming the annulment clause, one of which concerns the postponement of the February 14 deadline for the completion of the transaction that could be implemented via a public statement by Sklavenitis without requiring an amendment to the deal.

Greece’s competition authorities are, sources say, likely to rule by end-January that Sklavenitis should sell 20-25 Marinopoulos stores to rival chains in Attica and Crete.