German acquisition of Thessaloniki Port Authority goes ahead

Greece’s Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund announced on Monday the highest bidder part of the respective international competitive process for the acquisition of Thessaloniki Port Authority.

A consortium comprising of Deutsche Invest Equity Partners GmbH, Belterra Investments Ltd and Terminal Link SAS has successfully bid for the acquisition of 67% of Thessaloniki Port Authority SA after improving their offer by a payment of 231,926,000 euros.

The total value of the agreement amounts to 1.1 billion euros and includes among others the aforementioned 231,926,000 offer, the mandatory investments amounting to 180 million over the next seven years and the expected revenues from the concession agreement for the Hellenic Republic, in an expected amount in excess of 170 million euros. The total amount takes also into account the expected dividends receivable by the HRADF for the remaining 7.22% shareholding as well as the estimated investments (in excess of the mandatory ones) until the expiration of the concession, in 2051.

The above development signals a new era for the Port of Thessaloniki, the prospects of economic development of Northern Greece and the country as a whole. A file relating to the tender process will be submitted to the Court of Auditors in the coming weeks for a pre-contractual review of the legality of the process; the share purchase agreement (SPA) will be signed, following the Court of Auditors’ approval.

The completion of the transaction is subject to the competent authorities’ approvals and the satisfaction of certain further conditions provided for the share purchase agreement (SPA). Morgan Stanley and Piraeus Bank acted as financial advisors, Freshfields Bruckhaus Derringer LLP and Alexiou - Kosmopoulos Law Firm acted as legal advisors, the Hamburg Port Consulting (HPC) and Marnet acted as technical advisors on behalf of HRADF.