Greece's National Bank attracts strong demand in 20% stake sale - source (updated)

Piraeus Bank SA

15/11/2023 07:20

(Adds background)
    By Lefteris Papadimas
       ATHENS, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Demand for a 20% stake in
Greece's National Bank (NBG) held by the country's bank bailout
fund was covered by more than six times on Tuesday, in the first
day of a book-building process which ends later this week, a
source with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. 
    "Demand covered 6.2 times the shares offered," the source
involved in the process said on condition of anonymity. 
    After injecting about 50 billion euros ($54.37 billion) to
prop up Greece's four largest lenders in return for shares
during the country's decade-long debt crisis which ended in
2018, state-controlled bank bailout fund HFSF started divesting
its stakes last month.
    Eurobank  EURBr.AT  was the first to end the state's
participation in its share capital in October, weeks before S&P
Global became the first among the “big three” rating agencies to
 upgrade Greece to investment-grade status, which it lost in
2010.
    On Monday, HFSF concluded the sale of a 9% stake in Alpha
Bank to UniCredit and announced plans to sell a 20% stake in
NBG.
    The shares in NBG, Greece's second-largest bank by market
value, are being sold via a public offering and a private
placement from Nov. 14-16 at between 5 and 5.44 euros per share.
    The value of the 20% stake is estimated at about 1 billion
euros ($1.09 billion).
    HFSF currently holds a 40.4% stake in NBG and a 27% holding
in Piraeus Bank,  BOPr.AT , Greece's third-largest lender. It
has said it would aim to dispose of all its holdings in Greek
banks before the end of 2025.
    A source told Reuters on Monday that out of the 20% stake in
NBG, 17% would be offered to funds and 3% to retail investors.
If there was strong demand, HFSF would consider increasing the
stake on offer to 22%. 
    JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS have been
appointed as global coordinators of the sale. 

($1 = 0.9196 euros)

 (Reporting by Lefteris Papadimas, Editing by Louise Heavens and
Sharon Singleton)
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