HELPE stake to be sold at Athinon Ave
Hellenic Petroleum (HELPE) will be among the first privatization projects the new government intends to advance, but using a different plan this time.
Unlike the first time Athens tried to concede part of its stake in the oil company, this time main stakeholder the Latsis Group has decided against selling any shares, after assessing the negative results of a combined sale through an international tender and the uncertainty of a second tender that requires time-consuming procedures.
As the Latsis Group controls a 45.47 percent stake in HELPE (through Paneuropean), the further privatization of the company will have to be conducted through the concession of the state’s stake in the stock market, as no strategic investor would want to become a minority stakeholder.
Therefore the state will try to obtain revenues of 500 million euros as it has budgeted for. The state’s current 35 percent stake has a stock value of just under 1 billion euros, which means that the state could reap the takings it requires by conceding just 17-18 percent of its shares in Hellenic Petroleum.
