ATHENS (Greece) - Dubai Financial (DF), a unit of Dubai Investments, has
expressed its intention to buy a significant stake in Greece's Marfin
Financial Group for slightly more than $507 million, Marfin said yesterday.
The deal would give Dubai Financial (DF) a 31.55 per cent stake in one of
Greece's most dynamic financial groups.
Marfin said Dubai Financial, a unit of Dubai Investments, has already signed
purchase and sale agreements with minority shareholders that declare Dubai
Financial's intention to become a strategic investor in Marfin.
Dubai Financial will pay $30.17 a share for the stake, subject to certain
conditions being met, Marfin said yesterday in a filing to the Athens Stock
Exchange. Yesterday, Marfin shares went down $0.70 or 2.2 per cent after
closing 8.5 per cent higher at $32.22 a share on Thursday on rumours of the
stake purchase.
Marfin said Dubai Financial will conclude its purchase agreements with
minority shareholders within the next two months on completion of three
preconditions. The three preconditions are: satisfactory financial and legal
due-diligence of Marfin, receiving regulatory approval, and the signing of a
share agreement between Dubai Financial and Marfin's Vice-Chairman Andreas
Vgenopoulos.
According to the share agreement, Marfin vice-chairman Andreas Vgenopoulos
would retain his 6.75 per cent stake in the bank and continue to oversee the
company's business plan. Dubai Financial said Deutsche Bank AG acted as
adviser for the purchase.
Marfin Financial Group has a market capitalisation of slightly more than
$1.51 billion. Its main subsidiaries are its 100 per cent-owned units Marfin
Bank and Investment Bank of Greece. It is also the largest shareholder in
Cyprus Popular Bank with a 10 per cent stake, it holds 50.1 per cent of
Estonia's SBM Bank and has a 14 per cent stake in Greece's Egnatia Bank.
The deal is seen as giving the Athens-based lender an investor with the
funds to help finance acquisitions. Marfin raised 400 million euros last
year to finance growth. Dubai Investment has investments in banking,
industry communications and hotels, according to the Marfin statement. "It
seems that Marfin is looking for bigger acquisition targets in Greece and
abroad now and needed a strong financial partner like Dubai Financial to do
this," Natasha Roumantzi, an analyst at Piraeus Sigma-Devletoglou, said
yesterday.
Marfin shares declined as much as 94 cents, or 3.5 per cent, to 25.76 euros
and traded at 25.84 euros at 12:15pm in Athens. The stock has more than
doubled over the past 12 months, valuing the lender at 1.3 billion euros.
Source: "Khaleej Times" English speaking daily of Dubai (from Agencies)
18 March 2006
