According to the recent Forbes list, the second richest Greek will own approximately 48% of the bank's shares and will take control of the 28% owned by Vice President and CEO Anastasios Afthonidis.
Telis Mistakidis acquired the Aegean Baltic Bank (ABB) by purchasing shares from Afthonidis.
Specifically, the billionaire metals trader bought 48% of ABB and gained control over the 28% owned by Afthonidis. The remaining 24% remains with the shipowners Nikos Tsakos and Yiannis Koustas.
According to New Money, the two sides have signed a term sheet that is expected to lead to the completion of the agreement. At the present stage, the lawyers of all sides are examining the final terms of the share transfer agreement.
Immediately after, the next steps will be approval from the Bank of Greece. It is noted that the assets of Aegean Baltic Bank are estimated at 1 billion euros, and it has a wide shipping portfolio.
This element immediately creates the conditions for the dynamic development of the banking institution.
The granting of the Afthonidis family's voting rights, which will retain one of the two members on the Board of Directors, was decisive in closing the agreement after many months of negotiations.
The acquisition of Aegean Baltic Bank shows the great investment interest in the banking sector and the expectations created by the dynamic and positive course of the Greek economy.
According to data from the nine months of 2023, the bank's assets reached 1.15 billion euros, customers deposited 1 billion euros, and 505 million euros of loans were granted, of which 79% were shipping loans.
The ratio of non-performing loans stood at 1.7%, with 91.3% coverage by provisions. In the nine months, the net profit after taxes amounted to 21.5 million euros.
It is noted that Aegean Baltic Bank, although a relatively small bank, has had a significant footprint on the market since December 2002, especially in the strategic shipping sector.
The decision of the former chief executive of Glencore and the second richest Greek in the recent Forbes list, Telis Mistakidis, to enter the bank strongly shows two things. On the one hand, he trusts the effectiveness of the management team of Anastasios Afthonidis, the Vice President and CEO of the bank, and the general prospects of the bank and the Greek economy.
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