EXARCHOU: Once again, Alexandros Exarchou and Thrivest, along with shipowners Bakos and Kaimenakis, have managed to take the market by surprise.
This is not the first time, if we recall how the Ellaktor case unfolded, the acquisition of Pancretan Bank and Attica Bank, or, even more so, the group’s entry into the natural gas sector, acting as a key partner to American interests.
AKTOR announced yesterday a share capital increase of 650 million euros and a bond issue of 300 million euros. It should be noted that the listed company currently has consolidated equity of approximately 400 million euros, while its market capitalization stands at 2.725 billion euros.
This means that these two moves are changing not only the company’s financial picture but also the size of the group, in light of both existing and new plans. And we, who brought you news of these two new moves, did not expect this.
The moves turned out to be a “2-in-1” deal and far more impressive than we had anticipated.
EXARCHOU II: As indicated in the announcement, these two moves have the support, on the one hand, of the core shareholders—who have been with AKTOR throughout its entire “journey” and will inject up to 300 million euros in fresh capital—and, on the other hand, of major foreign investment banks that have agreed to “standby underwriting” — Goldman Sachs, BofA, and UBS.
Reports indicate that there will be significant participation from funds based on the other side of the Atlantic. We’re hearing this because Alexandros Exarchou has managed, in a short period of time, to cultivate excellent—even privileged, we would dare to say—relationships with American officials, making the group a key driver of U.S. energy plans in a part of Europe.
This is evident, after all, from how often U.S. Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle appears by his side—not at social events, but at business functions.
EXARCHOU III: The powerful head of Aktor had a lot of interesting things to say yesterday during the presentation of the group’s planned €1 billion capital injection.
We would like to highlight his remarks on an issue that is increasingly concerning the renewable energy market: the growing curtailments of production. The head of AKTOR warned that the issue should not be underestimated, as it may take on serious proportions in the coming years.
In his view, at some point the Ministry of Environment and Energy will need to take substantive action in the areas of energy storage and batteries, before curtailments significantly affect the viability of investments.
In fact, he directly linked the increase in “curtailments” to the risk of creating a new generation of “non-performing” loans, warning that as the phenomenon intensifies, the problem will only grow.
OTA: The opposition has characterized the new method for electing mayors and regional governors—as outlined in the bill proposed by Interior Minister Theodoros Livaniou—as a “Frankenstein election law.”
For those who haven’t fully grasped it yet, the new election system means that voters will “check” on the ballot not only their first choice (coalition-leader) but also their second or backup choice. It’s something like, “If my preferred candidate doesn’t win, let the one who bothers me the least win.”
During the count, both regular and backup votes will be tallied, and the winner will be whoever achieves the highest total—unless they alone reach 42% plus one of the votes, in which case they will be automatically declared the winner, without the total being calculated.
“You’re doing this because you can’t accept that Bakoyannis lost in Athens, which is why you’re lowering the bar to 42% plus one,” said many speakers (mainly from PASOK and SYRIZA).
“We’re doing this because the second round of local elections has a lower turnout than the first,” countered Mr. Livaniou, also citing the high financial cost of holding a second round on Sunday.
The bill will be voted on today (with only New Democracy’s “yes” votes), but no one is betting on its implementation in 2028. Because that would require an electoral victory for New Democracy—not to mention regaining a majority…
KONSTANTOPOULOU: “Me alone against you” is the image Zoi Konstantopoulou is projecting of herself, since the “you” includes both the government and the entire opposition.
And as long as the polls show the Freedom Course party’s support falling (according to RealPolls, it’s barely scraping the threshold for parliamentary representation), the party president’s rhetoric will only grow more strident.
Yesterday, for example, she reportedly accused the “blue” vice president of Parliament (and chairman of the Ethics Committee) Giorgos Georgantas of… undermining his own party by feeding the opposition information about OPEKEPE, which he knew as a former “agriculture” minister.
“You won’t intimidate me with vile lies,” he replied, and then Zoe reportedly launched a verbal attack on Dora Bakoyannis over the Siemens scandal and the traffic accident outside the Parliament that claimed the life of young Iasonas.
And where will we end up if the elections are delayed too long?
Hellenic Police: The Greek Left Coalition is moving into a hotel conference room south of Syngrou Avenue today and tomorrow.
Don’t let your mind wander to a relaxing weekend—it’s simply that this venue happened to be available for the first two party proceedings of the newly formed ELAS: today’s meeting of the 50 sector heads— “shadow ministers”—today and the meeting of the (at least) 300-member National Council tomorrow. The speaker, of course, will be Alexis Tsipras.
Tomorrow’s meeting, in particular, will have an informal conference-like character (until the regular party conference is held sometime this fall), as the smaller Political Committee of 60–70 members will also be appointed, as is reported.
Logically, there will also be a smaller executive body to oversee the party’s day-to-day operations.
EUROBANK ASSET MANAGEMENT: Eurobank received a dividend of 8.6 million euros from the company.
The mutual fund management company, institutional portfolios as well as portfolios of private clients in Private and Retail Banking, closed the 2025 fiscal year with a surge in profitability (editor’s note: net profits of 17.2 million euros compared to 11.5 million euros in 2024).
This was driven by a combination of higher commission income and lower payroll expenses following the voluntary retirement program.
SKYLINE REAL ESTATE: Skyline Real Estate closed the 2025 fiscal year with profits of 5.2 million euros, of which 4.12 million euros came from the revaluation of investment properties to fair value.
We note that it is a joint venture between Dimand, Latsco, Premia, EBRD (editor’s note: the above companies control P&E Investments, which holds 65% of Skyline) and Alpha Bank (35% of Skyline).
Its revenue reached 28 million euros and EBITDA stood at 8.1 million euros, excluding gains from the revaluation of real estate to fair value.
The company will not distribute a dividend for the 2025 fiscal year due to accumulated losses, after deducting unrealized gains (i.e., valuation gains).
SKYLINE REAL ESTATE II: As of May 21, the group has sold eight apartments and three retail units from its inventory for a total of 1.6 million euros, as well as two apartments, one office, four retail units, and nine parking spaces from its properties held for sale, for a total consideration of 569,500 euros.
Finally, in the investment property segment, Skyline purchased three properties for 1.8 million euros and sold a retail space for 751,000 euros.
As for its borrowing, the company expanded its pool of lending banks to include Optima and Credia Bank, which joined the bond loan totaling 156 million euros from Alpha Bank—the former with a 38.46% stake (up to 60 million euros) and the latter with 35.26% (up to 55 million euros).
ECB: It’s not often that a central bank is forced to deal with a… dictator. And yet, at the European Central Bank, an IT employee decided to run in the works council elections as “Admiral General Jan Aladdin Kouhta,” inspired by Sacha Baron Cohen’s satirical character in the movie *The Dictator*.
In his campaign platform, he promised a “Supreme Advisory Dictatorship,” mandatory applause, the abolition of independent thought, and “Very Aladeen”-style performance reviews. The ECB’s management did not find this amusing at all. The election committee issued him an official reprimand, ruling that the satire had crossed the boundaries of institutional decorum.
Behind this comical incident, however, Politico notes, lies a more serious debate over the limits of freedom of expression within the ECB. Employee representatives accuse management of imposing increasingly strict restrictions on staff members’ public speech, while Kouchtas himself argued that the reprimand actually confirmed the very message of his campaign.
The election results, however, did not live up to his expectations. Despite his promise of... 100% of the votes, he finished 13th out of 15 candidates and failed to win a seat on the council.
ALPHA BANK: Alpha Bank is preparing to make yet another hire to strengthen its management team, this time from abroad, according to information obtained by this column.
The candidate is a banking executive with extensive experience at a U.S. bank in the areas of investment and corporate banking.
PAPOUTSANIS: The German market appears to be rising higher and higher on the listed company’s list of priorities. It is no coincidence that members of the Greek-German Chamber of Commerce visited Papoutsanis’s production facilities, as the company has in recent years become one of the most prominent examples of Greek outward-looking business.
With a presence in more than 35 markets, including Germany, the company now derives 54% of its revenue from its international operations, with Europe being the primary destination for its exports.
During the visit, Chamber members met with the company’s management and were briefed on its growth trajectory, the strategic investments it is implementing, and the next steps in its export strategy.
ATTICA DEPARTMENT STORES: With oversubscription that has already exceeded twice the target since yesterday, Attica Department Stores’ public offering is concluding today.
The market expects today’s results to be even better, as large institutional and private portfolios are placing orders in the final hours of the offering.
The strong demand confirms the keen interest in one of Greece’s leading premium retail companies, at a time when both the sector and the company itself are on a growth trajectory.
It should be noted that the public offering provides for a price range of between 3 and 3.20 euros per share.
Based on the upper limit of the offering price range, the company is valued at 192.5 million euros in terms of market capitalization.
Beta estimates that at €3.20 per share, the company will trade at a P/E ratio of 12.1 times its estimated 2026 earnings and an EV/EBITDA ratio of 8.8 times, taking into account lease obligations of approximately 260 million euros included in net debt.
The brokerage firm places particular emphasis on the company’s dividend policy, as Attica Department Stores has committed to distributing 60% of its annual net earnings to shareholders.
Based on the brokerage firm’s projections, this translates to a total annual dividend of approximately 12 million euros, or 0.15–0.20 euros per share, offering a dividend yield that could approach 5%.