Athens Medical's owner bids for stake in Hygeia Group

The Apostolopoulos Group, which controls the Athens Medical Center, placed a bid on Friday for 30 percent of shares in the Athens-listed Hygeia Group.

While the move could be interpreted as part of an attempt to establish itself as the leader of the local private hospital market, sector experts say it still has a long way to go, as Hygeia's main shareholder Marfin Investment Group rejected the offer.

Smaller shareholders showed they also view the 0.45 euros/share bid as too low, as they took the Hygeia stock price 40 percent above that level on Friday.