The Cyprus Competition Protection Commission (CPC) has approved by a majority vote the initiative of the Greek banking group Eurobank to take control of the Hellenic Bank of Cyprus.
Thanks to this deal, Eurobank will become the largest credit institution on the island.
It is worth noting that the final point in this matter should be set by the European Central Bank (ECB). Now the management of Eurobank is eagerly awaiting the final decision on its part. By the way, currently the Cypriot division of the Eurobank controls 29.2% of the Hellenic Bank. But as soon as it receives a positive response from the ECB, it will be able to increase its assets to 55.3%.
Eurobank first announced its intention to take a controlling stake in September 2023, shortly after it signed successive agreements with strategic shareholders Poppy S.à rl (Pimco), Senvest Management LLC, and Wargaming Group, resulting in a 26% stake in Hellenic Bank.
A subsidiary of Greece's Eurobank SA and the island's third-largest banking institution joined Hellenic Bank's shareholders in June 2021, when it bought a 12.6% stake from fund managers Third Point Hellenic Recovery Fund. Later, a deal with Wargaming happened. Thanks to this, 13.4% went to Eurobank. The financial institution became the main shareholder of Hellenic, adding another 3.2%, effectively buying out Senvest Management LLC for 16.74 million euros. At the end of August, Wargaming announced its decision to sell its remaining 6.8% stake in Hellenic to Eurobank in a deal worth €65.9 million.
Following approval from the ECB, Eurobank is expected to proceed with a mandatory public offering to Hellenic shareholders, including investment firms Dimitra and Logicom, which together hold around 25%. About 15% of Hellenic's share capital is held by about 25,000 shareholders, and the banking union ETYK's security and welfare funds own 6.44% of HB's shares.