Category: Greece

Zepos & Yannopoulos has advised the Schur Flexibles Group on its successful financial restructuring.

The Schur Flexibles Group is an international flexible plastic packaging manufacturer.

According to Zepos & Yannopoulos, “the lender-led restructuring foresees, inter alia, key lenders taking over the equity at a group level as well as a significant reduction of the senior secured credit facilities and the provision of an up to EUR 160 million new financing.”

Zepos & Yannopoulos’ team included Partner Paris Tzoumas and Associate Magda Tsatsi.

Zepos & Yannopoulos did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Kyriakides Georgopoulos has advised LDA Capital on its EUR 20 million investment in Proodeftiki ATE.

LDA Capital is a US-based private equity alternative investment group. Proodeftiki ATE is an Athens stock exchange-listed construction company.

According to KG, the “funding will take the form of private placement through subscription of new shares in one or more capital increases over the next three years.”

KG’s team included Partner Theodore Rakintzis and Senior Associate Meletios Andrianos.

Zepos & Yannopoulos has advised Club Med SAS on the EUR 70 million sale and leaseback transaction for the Gregolimano Village resort on Evia with Hova Hospitality, acting on behalf of Primonial REIM France. Watson Farley & Williams advised Hova.

According to WFW, “the high-end resort is currently being renovated as part of an extension and renovation project with an initial budget of EUR 20 million. Located on Greece’s second largest island of Evia (Euboea) along a secluded beach, Club Med Gregolimano specializes in all-inclusive luxury holidays, with a special focus on water-sports lovers and active families.”

Club Med SAS is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris and specializing in all-inclusive holidays. Primonial Real Estate Investment Management provides portfolio management services.

Zepos & Yannopoulos’ team included Partners Athina Skolarikou, Sonia Melegou, Sofia Chatzigiannidou, and Anastasia Makri, Senior Associates Ioanna Poulakou, Nikos Koukos, and Georgia Tsiaoussi, and Associate George Louizos.

The WFW team included Partner Nikolaos Kostikas and Senior Associates Georgia Mathiopoulou and Sofia Tyligada.

Zepos & Yannopoulos did not respond to our inquiry on the deal.

Bernitsas Law, working with Linklaters, has advised GIC on a strategic partnership with the Sani/Ikos Group. Kirkland & Ellis reportedly advised the Sani/Ikos Group.

Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of 2022, pending regulatory approval.

GIC is an investment company that manages Singapore’s foreign reserves. The company has investments in over 40 countries. The Sani/Ikos Group develops, owns, and operates resorts in the Mediterranean region, with over 2,750 rooms and suites spread across ten resorts in Greece and Spain.

According to Linklaters, under the partnership agreement, GIC will become the leading shareholder in the Sani/Ikos Group, alongside the group’s management team. The transaction values the Sani/Ikos Group at EUR 2.3 billion. “The new partnership with GIC will further strengthen the resources available to the Sani/Ikos Group to deliver on its five-year investment plan of over EUR 900 million, contributing to the support of local economies and the creation of new jobs in the Mediterranean,” the firm informed.

The Bernitsas Law team was led by Partners Lambros Belessis and Evi Kitsou and included Partner Athanasia Tsene, Counsel Linda Vasaka, and Senior Associates Christina Zakopoulou, Eleni Gerasimidou, Maria Kloni, and Mara Lissari.

The Linklaters team included London-based Partners Tom Watkins, Matthew Plaskow, and Chris Smale, Managing Associates Amy Barker and Alexei Franks, and Associate Jessica Dougan.

The Greek market is experiencing an intense period in terms of transactional workload, mainly due to investments coming in through privatizations and concessions, as well as the powerful development of the renewable energy market, according to KLC Law Firm Deputy Managing Partner Theodore Loukopoulos.

“In terms of market, there have been a lot of M&A mandates for developing energy projects, including wind and solar farms,” Loukopoulos notes. “Additionally, we have a lot of real estate transactions. In particular, there is a heavy demand for small apartments for individuals who hold golden visas and other schemes implemented by the government to attract foreign investors.” According to Loukopoulos, there has also been an increase in demand for hospitality real estate. “Larger developments are taking place on the Greek islands, the Athens riviera, and other mainland touristic spots, increasing demand for hotels and other hospitality venues,” he notes.

Another hot topic in Greece, according to Loukopoulos, are the preparations for the upcoming winter. “We are all discussing the extremely unpredictable winter we have ahead, expecting a crisis with regards to the energy prices. Greece is not as dependent on gas as other EU countries and, consequently, it does not look like we will have any serious problems,” he notes. “Yet, gas prices are very high – having increased around 6 to 8 times – and consumers struggle to cover the expenses. Even though the government will likely provide subsidies, we don’t know if it will be sufficient to deal with the situation.”

Loukopoulos adds that Greece is also preparing for elections next year: “we are in an important period leading up to the elections. Normally, this is the period when everything stops – investors are waiting for the election outcomes and the government refrains from proceeding with new projects. We hope that, in the fourth quarter of 2023, the general situation in the country will eventually change.”

On a positive note, Loukopoulos says that, at the moment, life sciences is another interesting subject in Greece. “In the pharmaceutical market we have seen a few M&As in the previous years, but the number is declining,” he points out. “However, the major players are now showing interest in huge investments in large pharmaceutical plants and research centers. We have three new research centers by Pfizer, Demo, and Elpen already developed or being developed at the moment.” According to Loukopoulos, “Greek-based multinational pharmaceutical companies have exceeded expectations in terms of remaining, investing, and growing in Greece – with governmental subsidies having helped with that process. Apart from all that, we’re also noticing that patent litigations have been increasing among pharmaceutical companies in Greece.”

The highlight of Drakopoulos’ work this year would be corporate and M&A, according to Managing Partner Panagiotis Drakopoulos, as a result of the overall Greek business climate and the country’s good position geopolitically, making it particularly attractive for foreign direct investments.

“In 2022, the firm’s Corporate and M&A practice had the biggest increase compared to the previous years,” Drakopoulos begins. “In terms of mandates, a number of transactions took place in real estate, financial technology, energy, manufacturing, insurance, logistics, etc. We had well over a dozen mandates in M&A, such as SoftOne’s acquisition of a procurement platform (CosmoOne) from the OTE-Cosmote Group, Prodea’s acquisition of a real estate portfolio from a foreign investors’ group, and the sale of a significant stake in the Agro FSRU in Volos to Greek shipowner Dragnis Group. There is quite an increase compared to the previous years.”

Drakopoulos notes that, consequently, the firm had to hire new experts and work for longer hours in order to deal with the increased workload. “In particular, we needed senior experts who had specific experience in fields such as insurance and energy, and those who could autonomously lead the teams,” he points out.

“In general, such an increase in M&A activity can be attributed to the country’s overall business climate and geopolitics,” Drakopoulos adds. “We are the only EU member country in the region with a mature economy and large technology infrastructure centers in development. As a gateway to South East Europe, Greece is attractive for investments for companies from the US, Asia, and the wider Europe region, looking to start operations in SEE and beyond,” he says, adding that, “as a firm, we have always been outward-looking, with mostly international clients who have an appetite for FDIs in Greece.” According to him, as a result, the Greek M&A market and its different players had to adapt to an increased workload and leverage the fact that, currently, such transactions are working out a lot more smoothly than they did in the past.

As for the outlook for the practice, Drakopoulos says that “there is a lot of volatility globally, therefore, it’s difficult to make any safe predictions.” Still, he believes that the growth in M&A activities is likely to continue. “For those same reasons that led to a busy M&A practice, Greece will remain in a good position to attract investors. Additionally, there is a global trend for consolidation of businesses worldwide, and those companies are now looking for local investments. That, together with FDIs, will hopefully keep our M&A practice busy in the long term,” he concludes.

Kyriakides Georgopoulos has advised the Quest Group on its acquisition of G.E. Dimitriou through a court-ratified rehabilitation agreement contemplating a EUR 5 million participation of Athex-listed Quest Holdings in a share capital increase of the target company.

G.E. Dimitriou imports and distributes household appliances, focusing on the Toyotomi, Singer, Kerosun, and Izola brands.

The Quest Group is active in the IT, postal services, and green energy sectors.

KG’s team was led by Partner Theodore Rakintzis and Counsel Penny Oikonomopoulou.

KG did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Lambadarios has advised the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund and Hellenic Petroleum on the sale of Depa Infrastructure to Italgas for EUR 733 million.

According to the firm, Depa Infrastructure is the largest gas distribution operator in Greece and Italgas, an Italian gas distributor, is the third largest in the European market. 

Lambadarios’ team included Managing Partner Constantinos Lambadarios and Partners George Panopoulos and Melina Katsimi.

Lambadarios did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Koutalidis has advised Eurobank, the National Bank of Greece, and Piraeus Bank on the financing for the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator through the issuance of a bond loan up to an overall amount of EUR 660 million.

According to Koutalidis, “the bond program includes an accordion option, allowing for the increase of the loan by EUR 440 million.” The banks were the subscribers of the bond loan, while Eurobank was also the bondholder agent, paying agent, and account bank. “The proceeds from the issue of the loan will be used (inter alia) for financing part of the company’s capital expenditures.”

Last year, in 2021, Koutalidis advised the Macquarie Group on its Acquisition of HEDNO (reported by CEE Legal Matters on October 27, 2021).

Koutalidis’ team included Partner Ioannis Kaptanis and Senior Associate Dimitris Kalyvas.

Koutalidis did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.

Koutalidis has advised a syndicate of Greek banks on the refinancing of the existing indebtedness of Athens International Airport. 

Alpha Bank, Eurobank, National Bank of Greece, and Piraeus Bank were the arrangers and subscribers of the bond loan. Piraeus Bank was also the bondholder agent and the National Bank of Greece was a facility agent. The financial closing of the project occurred on August 25, 2022.

According to Koutalidis, “the refinancing was implemented through the issuance of a secured bond loan of an amount of up to EUR 1,007,843,966 and the borrowing of an additional amount of EUR 28.7 million under an existing bond loan provided to AIA to cover five construction projects.”

Koutalidis’ team included Partners Nikos Salakas and Ioannis Kaptanis.

Koutalidis did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.