New process for the sale of Ethniki Insurance will begin next week
The data rooms for the sale of Ethniki Insurance will, according to sources, open on Wednesday, April 18. The three Chinese groups – Fosun, Gongbao and Wintime – that had been shortlisted for the binding bids stage in the previous process will have access to them.
Neither Gongbao nor Wintime had been invited to submit an improved offer during the previous tender, as their prices for the 75 percent stake in Greece’s biggest insurer were far below those of Fosun and of the then preferred bidder, the Exin group.
According to the same sources, the date for the submission of binding offers will be May 5, following the assessment of the updated financial figures of Ethniki for 2017, which were considerably improved in comparison with those of 2016 that formed the basis for the bids submitted in the first tender.
The decision to reopen the tender for all three suitors aims to avert any negative developments should the negotiations concern only the previous procedure’s runner-up, Fosun.
It will therefore concern Wintime, too, which until recently had not renewed its interest. However, Kathimerini understands that Wintime recently stated its intention to the management of Ethniki owner National Bank of Greece, asking to participate in the data room process. Although in the previous round Wintime was seen as a rank outsider, it is now considered a serious candidate after its cooperation with Chinese group ZDG, financed by the local authority of the Chinese capital, Beijing.
