Financial Times
December 16, 2011
Fancy buying an abandoned airport site? Bigger than Monaco and with potential as a marina? Yes? One problem – it’s in Greece. That is the scenario facing the grandly named Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, created to sell a €50bn portfolio of state assets. Greece needs cash, privatisations and foreign direct investment. Until its future in or outside the eurozone is clarified, however, the effort will not attract the interest it deserves.
The site that used to house Athens International airport has attracted some Gulf investors. This week, three expressions of interest were tabled for the sale of a stake in Hellenic Lotteries. Among them were approaches from Austrian Lotteries and a consortium that includes Italy’s Lottomatica. The fund has raised €1.5bn from selling telecoms-related licences and rights. Coming soon: a stake in Athens-listed OPAP, one of Europe’s leading lottery operators (revenue of €3.2bn and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €550m in the first nine months of 2011). The fund includes state property and infrastructure; there is a deadline of 2015 for the sales.
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