SAMARAS: MPs who… associate with the former prime minister have come under scrutiny at the Maximos Mansion, amid fears they might join the new party.
The same thing happened with the dinner held the day before yesterday in Pagrati, where three members of the New Democracy parliamentary group—Charalambos Athanasiou (Lesbos), Theophilos Leontaridis (Serres), and Giorgos Karasmanis (Pella).
And while the prime minister’s inner circle may officially insist that there is no cause for concern and that any party switches are not decided over a single… meal, nevertheless—as an experienced lawmaker pointedly remarked—“watch your back; you’ll be left with half your clothes…”
BAKOGIANNI: Dora Bakogianni (Mega), however, once again directed her barbs at the former prime minister: “He is the embodiment of hypocrisy and self-righteousness. And I say this not because I have a personal issue with Mr. Samaras; I’ve had an opinion about him for many years now. I haven’t hidden it, after all.”
The problem with the man from Messinia, the former minister emphasized, “is his stubbornness. Unfortunately, when people are stubborn, they do things that will damage his legacy—which, to be honest, doesn’t interest me much… He wants to deprive New Democracy of its majority,” she noted.
The rift between the two has remained unbridgeable for decades.
FEVGAS: The case involving Vasilis Fevgas, New Democracy’s Secretary of Strategic Planning, shows no signs of closing, with his request to repeal the law on same-sex couples and to expel Samaras from the party.
Beyond the distance the Maximos Mansion has maintained from the outset, New Democracy lawmakers have also begun to voice their dissatisfaction, such as Stelios Petsas and Zoe Rapti, who directly called for his resignation from the position of Secretary because he was challenging two key decisions made by the party president.
In fact, government spokesperson Pavlos Marinakis made matters even… worse for the politician from Aetolia-Acarnania:
“The positions taken by Mr. Petsas and Ms. Rapti are not unreasonable,” he stated, focusing on the manner in which Mr. Feugas expressed his objections and emphasizing that these can be discussed within the framework of internal party dialogue.
He did, however, seek to put the matter to rest, reiterating that “this intervention is not considered serious, and we are moving forward.”
SYRIZA: The SYRIZA leadership’s decision to remove Pavlos Polakis’s signature from questions submitted by the party’s MPs is attributed to the popular saying, “Panic is a bad advisor, but so is anger.”
Polakis himself denounced the move, speaking of “petty-mindedness and inferiority complexes” and accusing Socrates Famellos—who, incidentally, expelled him from the parliamentary group—of being behind this action.
The irony is that just yesterday (as this column noted), an amendment was submitted to Parliament bearing the signatures of current and former SYRIZA MPs, current and former New Left MPs, a former Freedom Course MP, and a current PASOK MP. “Didn’t this move bother Famellos? Was it only Polakis’s signature that bothered him?”—the rhetorical question…
Meanwhile, it did not go unnoticed that when Mr. Famellos took the floor of Parliament yesterday at noon to deliver his speech, only six SYRIZA MPs were seated in their party’s benches.
Even though the speech, scheduled for that specific time, had been announced that very morning…
SKAI-OPEN: A few days ago, we wrote about… Yiannis Alafouzos’s “blitzkrieg” on the teams’ television rights, as well as the “pressure” being exerted on Ivan Savvidis, regarding the Open TV station, recalling the disputes with Telis Mystakidis over PAOK.
Now it seems we’re in for the next episode, as rumors circulating in the industry suggest that Yiannis Alafouzos’s SKAI is stepping in as a white knight to “rescue” Open TV.
Our sources mention exploratory talks regarding a partnership. These are reportedly covering a wide range of topics. From funding part of Open TV’s programming, collaboration on sports rights, and commercial “synergies,” to the possibility of SKAI’s owner acquiring a stake in Open TV’s share capital.
The industry’s gossipmongers, however, combine all of the above and conclude that these are no mere coincidences. And that, in essence, Savvidis is being pressured to make “concessions.”
Judging by past experience, however, we’re keeping our expectations low. Ivan has proven himself not only very resistant to “pressure”—something that also happened, if you recall, in the case of the Piraeus Port Authority—but also very difficult to work with and… to sell to, at least as far as Open is concerned.
We’ve lost count of how many times related information has been leaked to the market (in some cases, it was even… fabricated), without anything ultimately coming of it.
IOBE: The numbers have changed only slightly, but the big picture remains the same. The consumer confidence index stood at -52.8 points in June, virtually unchanged from May, keeping Greece in last place among European Union countries.
In fact, the gap between Greece and the next most pessimistic countries—Romania and Bulgaria—remains wide.
Interestingly, despite a slight improvement in assessments of household finances and the overall state of the economy, consumers appear increasingly reluctant to open their wallets.
The intention to make major purchases declined significantly in June, while there was a slight increase in the propensity to save.
LAIMOS FAMILY: The Enesel Group, owned by Filippos and Antonis Laimos, is significantly bolstering its return to the bulk carrier market by doubling its orders for capesize vessels at the Chinese shipyard Hengli Heavy Industry and confirming the construction of four ultramax vessels at a second shipyard in China.
According to the company’s updated fleet data, Enesel now has four 181,500 dwt capesize vessels under construction at Hengli. The two new vessels are scheduled for delivery in the first half of 2028, while, according to market estimates, the value of each vessel ranges between $75 million and $78 million.
At the same time, the company confirmed that it is building four 63,500 dwt ultramax vessels at the Jiangsu Hantong shipyard, with deliveries scheduled from the second half of 2027 through the first half of 2028.
This move marks Enesel’s dynamic return to the bulk carrier sector, despite the fact that it had completely exited this sector in 2025.
TSAKOS: Tsakos Energy Navigation (TEN), owned by Captain Nikolaos Tsakos, placed a second order for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier in 2026, commissioning HD Hyundai Heavy Industries to build another LNG carrier scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2029.
This is the company’s second order in this sector this year, following the first one announced in February, which marked TEN’s return to investing in LNG carriers after seven years. According to shipbuilding sources, the new vessel is the optional order that had been agreed upon in the initial contract.
With this new agreement, the order book of the New York-listed company now stands at 20 newbuilds, including three VLCCs, ten shuttle tankers, five LR1 product tankers, and two LNG carriers.
The company’s chairman, George Saroglou, stated that growing global energy demand and geopolitical developments are reinforcing the role of LNG as an alternative energy source, making TEN’s continued presence in the sector strategically important.
SHIPPING COMPANIES: Seanergy Maritime has become the latest Greek shipping company to turn to the Athens market to raise capital, proceeding with the issuance of a five-year, unsecured corporate bond of up to 100 million euros on Euronext Athens. The public offering will take place from July 6 to July 8, while trading of the bonds is expected to begin on July 13.
The New York-listed company, led by Stamatis Tsantanis, estimates that it will raise approximately 95.6 million euros net, of which about 76 million euros will be allocated to fleet expansion.
It should be noted that Seanergy currently has one newly built Newcastlemax and five Capesize vessels under construction, with a total value of approximately $542 million.
It has already secured a significant portion of the financing through bank loans, down payments, and the sale of two older vessels to United Maritime, which is also listed in the U.S.
The issuance reinforces a trend that began in 2021, when companies such as Safe Bulkers, Costamare, and Capital Product Partners began raising capital through corporate bonds in Athens, taking advantage of lower borrowing costs compared to other markets, such as the U.S. or Oslo.
Greek shipowners’ interest in the Athens Stock Exchange is no longer limited to bonds. Last month, Safe Bulkers became the first major shipping company listed on Wall Street to secure a parallel listing in Athens, while Y/Knot Invest strengthened its presence in the Greek market with the acquisition of an Aframax tanker.
Market executives now estimate that new shipping listings will follow in 2026.
CONSTRUCTION: Speculation is running high in the market about which construction group will be the next to make a capital move.
Following moves by Aktor and GEK Terna, many eyes have turned to AVAX. For now, however, management is putting the brakes on such expectations. At yesterday’s general meeting, the group’s chairman, Christos Ioannou, was categorical, noting that “we do not have any investment plan that is not covered by the company’s existing borrowing capacity and cash reserves.”
In the market, however, there is no shortage of those who insist that the situation could change quickly. As they point out, securing one or two new major contracts with increased financing requirements could lead to a reevaluation of the options.
For now, however, this remains a scenario rather than a plan.
INTERWOOD: According to market sources, the final step in a financial restructuring plan is the commencement of trading in subscription rights for the listed company’s share capital increase.
Last year marked a turning point. Revenue and EBITDA rose, while the company returned to positive pre-tax results, posting a profit of €320,000 compared to a loss in the previous fiscal year.
At the same time, the group improved its gross profit margin, strengthened its equity, and reduced its net debt.
In 2026, management implemented an aggressive consolidation and restructuring program. As part of this effort, it initiated procedures to sell real estate assets in order to reduce debt, entered into a refinancing agreement with CrediaBank, and launched a capital increase.
With the entry of a strategic investor.
INTERWOOD II: The funds raised from the Share Capital Increase will be used, on the one hand, to further reduce bank debt and, on the other hand, to strengthen the company’s liquidity, in order to support its growth trajectory with a significantly stronger financial foundation.
In parallel with the financial restructuring, Interwood has also undertaken a strategic shift in its business profile, increasing its involvement in large and complex infrastructure and development projects, such as the new hospitals of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the Kastelli Airport.
According to reports, the positive impact of these moves is already reflected in the group’s business activity. Market sources estimate that revenue for the first half of 2026 increased by approximately 15% compared to the same period last year.
VOLTON: With revenue of 132.4 million euros, EBITDA of 4.9 million euros, and a net loss of 3.2 million euros, the group closed the 2025 fiscal year, achieving a significant improvement in performance compared to previous years.
Volton significantly reduced its cost of goods sold, with the result that, although revenue fell to 132.2 million euros from 150.7 million euros in 2024, gross profit rose to 12.4 million euros (gross margin of 9.37%, up from 4.98% in 2024).
Other income amounted to 16.89 million euros (Note: €7.22 million from the reversal of provisions due to a recent interpretation of IFRS 9) contributed to EBITDA returning to positive territory, as they offset increased administrative and distribution expenses. Losses after taxes were limited to 3.2 million euros, down from 38.9 million euros in 2024.
VOLTON II: Following this year’s debt-to-equity swap of 93.97 million euros by the affiliate Kiloman Holdings (note: this refers to the well-known Altomare loan, which was transferred on October 31, 2025, to Kiloman, through which the Bakou-Kavmenakis families had acquired a portion of Ellaktor’s share capital) and a €6 million cash capital increase, aims to expand its market share in energy supply.
Already, in April, its share of electricity load representation rose to 1.13% from 0.99% in 2025.
VOLTON III: Last March, the company carried out a share capital reduction to offset accumulated losses of 101.1 million euros, significantly strengthening its balance sheet. It remains to be seen whether these moves to strengthen its financial position are (also) serving as groundwork for a potential M&A deal.
Reports that Aktor intends to enter the electricity supply market, leveraging €950 million in capital and liquidity it aims to raise from the market, are fueling speculation involving Volton.
It should be noted that Volton is controlled by the Bakou-Kavmenaki families, who, through Winex, also hold a stake in Aktor’s share capital.
GEK: According to market rumors, approximately 25% of the funds GEK raised through its recent capital increase will be allocated to the water supply sector.
In addition to its stake in EYDAP—which it aims to increase—GEK is also interested in playing a major role in the PPPs that will be launched for water supply projects.