A follow-up sale effort offering a stake in Hellenic Petroleum ELPE will only involve the Greek State, holding a 35.48 percent share of the petroleum company, while the Latsis Group’s Paneuropean Oil, the main shareholder with a 45.5 percent stake, has decided not to participate, reliable sources have informed energypress.
An initial ELPE sale attempt, in which the Greek State participated with 20 percent and Paneuropean Oil 30.1 for a concurrent sale offering 50.1 percent, failed to attract investors.
During his speech at the 84th Thessaloniki International Fair, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis made clear the ELPE privatization is a top-priority sale along with the Greek State’s stakes in gas utility DEPA and Athens International Airport.
An official agreement between ELPE and the Latsis Group on the privatization is expected within days, the sources noted.
The two sides also appear to have agreed to dismantle an ELPE holding company whose assets include the petroleum firm’s hydrocarbon exploration and production licenses.
If so, prospective bidders ELPE bidders could hail from the upstream sector.