Gov’t to sell its Piraeus stake

Greece will proceed with the complete divestment of the state from Piraeus Bank with the disposition of the 27% it controls through the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF).

The government has come to this decision, according to sources cited by Bloomberg, highlighting the positive investment climate and the high demand manifested during the preparatory procedures, which is capable, as they note, of absorbing all the shares that will be made available.

This outlook is reinforced by the high profitability announced by the bank last week, targeting profits of 1 billion euros per year for the period 2024-2026, which paves the way for the distribution of a dividend equal to 25% of profits in 2024 and of the order of 50% per year in 2025-2026. The public offer will likely start on Monday, March 4, in order for the offer book to be closed within the first week of next...