Major acquisition deal in the Greek construction industry unlikely to finally happen

“The case is closed” , mention enigmatic sources with knowledge of the acquisition case of AKTOR by the Ellaktor Group from the Dimitris Koutras-Wade Adams scheme. As everything shows, the business move had no future and the relevant announcements from Ellaktor are expected soon.

In fact, as supported by the same sources, the guarantee letter of 5 million euros deposited by this scheme will be withheld, while there will also be “important announcements about the future of the Group”.

However, it should be mentioned that the deal had until the end of March to be completed, but the wreck has already happened.

What seems to have gone wrong, as construction sources comment, is the labyrinthine connection of the two subsidiaries (AKTOR and AKTOR CONCESSIONS) of the parent company as in each concession project the construction is given to AKTOR. The same is done by other companies with group stratification such as GEK TERNA where the projects undertaken by the parent company are given to its construction arm which is TERNA.

In general, the joint venture of two separate entities with commitments such as the exclusive execution of projects in concession or PPP projects would have issues such as price agreement.

The possibility of giving a minority percentage has also been ruled out as it does not seem to be an interesting case.

The case of the acquisition of INTRAKAT, which had made a written offer of 180 million euros, may be out of the picture, but market circles point out that it is extremely possible that INTRAKAT will return after the period ends, but without there being any rush to the process.

On the part of the other large Group, GEK TERNA, informed sources say that it has no interest and has not been part of the discussion since the beginning of this case.

What remains to be clarified if the case of the sale of AKTOR as a whole is stopped is the future of the Group from Reggeborgh. Ellactor participates through AKTOR CONCESSIONS and AKTOR in dozens of public projects and PPPs, some of which will be signed in the near future (Kymi extension, middle section of VOAK) and any developments affect the entire construction industry of the country.

The Group, which currently has a unutilized amount of 2.7 billion euros, employs several thousand workers and is a point of reference in the domestic construction industry with emblematic projects such as the Thessaloniki Metro, Attiki Odos, participation in the highways, etc.