NBG has postponed the sale of ETHNIKI Asfalisitiki on Coronavirus pandemic

15 April 2020 —
The National Bank of Greece (NBG) putted its insurance unit sale on hold after "the Coronavirus pandemic dashed any lingering hopes of a successful auction", wrote bloomberg quoting people familiar with the matter.

According to the mentioned source, ETHNIKI Asfalisitiki attracted bids from suitors including the investment funds CVC Capital Partners, while Chinese group Fosun and private equity firm Varde Partners "dropped out of the process".

NBG could restart the sale process once the situation stabilizes, the most recent news available showing it has received bids lower than expected - below its target of around EUR 600 million.

Ethniki Asfalisitiki is the largest insurance company in Greece. According to the 3Q2019 results, GWP by company amounted to EUR 578.4 million, up y-o-y by 24.3%, while the profit before tax increased by 18.2%, to EUR 59.2 million. Ethniki's sale is already a five years old saga, with several failed attempts.

NBG is trying to sell ETHNIKI Asfalisitiki for years to shore up its capital buffers.


XPRIMM covered the story of ETHNIKI sale since 2016. Below you can find our materials on this subject:



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