ATHENS: Greece’s government is revising the stake size for port of Piraeus, now to offer bidders a 51% stake, instead of the previous offer of 67.7%, according to people familiar with the matter.
Greece’s previous government had been seeking to sell a 67.7% stake in the Piraeus Port Authority. It would be one of Greece’s biggest divestments, part of an ambitious privatization plan agreed between Greece and the country’s main international creditors—the European Union, the International Monetary Fund and the Europe Central Bank. The creditors have repeatedly told Athens that the sale of state assets is a must in any new financing deal.
“The 51% stake is a compromise that everyone in the party can accept,” another Greek official said, adding that the sale should yield “slightly below” the minimum €500 million ($563 million) that was expected if the 67.7% stake went on the block.