Eurobank Completes Acquisition of Hellenic Bank Shares, Triggers Resignation of Key Board Member

Eurobank, a subsidiary of Eurobank Ergasias Services and Holdings, has successfully concluded its mandatory public offer for the acquisition of up to 100 per cent of the issued share capital of Hellenic Bank Public Company Limited.

This offer, which commenced on June 4, 2024, has now been completed. According to Eurobank's statement on the Cyprus Stock Exchange website, the final verification of acceptance and transfer forms revealed a total acceptance rate of 0.481 per cent for the public offer.

The statement disclosed that acceptance and transfer forms were submitted for 1,984,781 shares of the target company. Combined with the 55.481 per cent (229,030,025 shares) already directly held by Eurobank at the close of the public offer on July 30, 2024, Eurobank now possesses a total of 55.962 per cent (231,014,806 shares) of Hellenic Bank's issued share capital.

Furthermore, shareholders who accepted the public offer received payments via bank transfers and the issuance of cheques on August 6, 2024. The announcement also mentioned that the offeror completed an off-market transfer of the securities through the appointed handler, the Cyprus Investment and Securities Corporation Limited (CISCO).

CISCO and Axia Ventures Group served as advisors to Eurobank during the public offer process.

Resignation of John Gregory Iossifidis from Hellenic Bank Board

In a related development, Hellenic Bank Public Company Limited announced the resignation of John Gregory Iossifidis from its board of directors. According to a statement released on the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE), Iossifidis, who joined the board on June 18, 2021, and was elected Senior Independent Director on June 28, 2023, has decided to step down from his role. He was also a member of the board's audit and nominations committee and the internal governance committee.

The announcement stated that Iossifidis "has informed the bank of his decision to step down from his role as independent non-executive director before the commencement of voting at the bank’s 50th annual general meeting (AGM) on September 18, 2024." Iossifidis explained that his resignation follows the acquisition of a controlling stake in Hellenic Bank by Eurobank S.A. He noted that this move aims to ensure a smooth transition, allowing the new leadership to implement its strategic vision and objectives for the bank while maintaining governance structures until the AGM.

This resignation comes shortly after another significant departure. On August 5, 2024, the resignation of Christos Themistocleous, the non-executive vice chairman of the bank’s board, was announced with immediate effect. According to the bank’s articles of association, nominations for the position of director can be submitted by shareholders from August 4, 2024, until the close of business (2:30 p.m. Cyprus time) on August 30, 2024. 

By fLEXI tEAM