KARAMANLIS - SAMARAS: Some political operators tried to land a three-pointer from 6.75 metres, seeking to undermine Antonis Samaras's party, which is still in the process of being founded. But it seems the ball did not go in.
It all started with a report in Newpost claiming that Kostas Karamanlis had told an associate he would not support Antonis Samaras's party, citing his own record and that of his family.
The report went further, claiming that there would be no more joint appearances by the two former prime ministers and that they had not spoken for months.
But a small... problem emerged.
Sources at Karamanlis's own office, as reported by Proto Thema, denied the remarks attributed to him, clarifying that the former prime minister would maintain a stance of “strict neutrality”. Other reports, meanwhile, say Karamanlis and Samaras remain in regular contact.
Nikos Tsioutsias, director of Samaras's press office, added his own “touch”, poking fun at speculation about a rift and revealing that the two former prime ministers had indeed... had a row!
Karamanlis, a Panathinaikos supporter, had insisted that his team, coached by... Obradovic, was superior, while Samaras, an Olympiacos supporter, had backed the attacking talent of his team, coached by... Bartzokas.
From there, he said wryly, the information went from a dot to a line, then to a triangle and a square, until it ended up in a news report!
KARAMANLIS-SAMARAS II: Beyond the... basketball, however, there is also the political substance. The repeated criticism of national issues, institutions and foreign policy, the joint appearances with Samaras and, more recently, Karamanlis's absence from New Democracy's 52nd anniversary event alongside the Messinian and Vangelis Meimarakis do little to suggest any political rapprochement between Karamanlis and the Maximos Mansion.
On the other hand, he has chosen to distance himself from active politics for years, so why would he throw in his lot with a new party?
Our assessment is that he will not officially endorse Samaras. But that is a far cry from politically denouncing him, let alone joining forces with Mitsotakis, whom even Karamanlis's unsmiling expression when the two are together (a rare occurrence these days) shows he does not like at all.
Whether he will encourage or discourage Karamanlis allies from moving towards Samaras is another, far more interesting, matter. For now, reports suggest that he “does not intend to tell anyone what to do”.
For the Maximos Mansion, a Samaras party without the slightest political tolerance from Karamanlis would clearly be less dangerous.
A Samaras party with Karamanlis continuing to criticise Mitsotakis, while not preventing his political friends from making their own choices, is an entirely different matter.
PS: We do not know who set up the controversial... “shot”. But we do know who would have benefited if it had gone in. In politics, as in basketball, it is not enough to take a three-point shot. You have to make it.
MEIMARAKIS: Vangelis Meimarakis's absence from the recent event marking New Democracy's 52nd anniversary attracted considerable comment behind the scenes. Some even sought to link it to the absence of the party's two other former leaders, Kostas Karamanlis and Antonis Samaras, adding to the internal party divisions facing Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
That made the one-to-one meeting between the two in Brussels on Friday, before the European Council summit got under way, seem necessary to the prime minister, who wanted to counter those impressions and highlight his good relations with the party's veteran figure.
As Mr Mitsotakis himself has said, they had also spoken on the sidelines of the event, with Vangelis Meimarakis informing him of his parliamentary commitments in Brussels that day.
New Democracy figures have also pointed out that Meimarakis attended both the prime minister's speech at the Thessaloniki International Fair and the first day of the party's 16th congress.
The two former prime ministers did not.
CHATZIDAKIS: Among those addressed by Kostis Hatzidakis at an event he organised in Goudi to mark the anniversary of the founding of ONNED were disgruntled New Democracy supporters who, for various reasons, have become unhappy with people and developments within the party.
“I know there may be grumbling and complaints, and fellow party members who feel that the party has not always treated them fairly or recognised them as much as their contribution deserves,” said the deputy prime minister and New Democracy vice-president.
“In many cases these complaints are justified, and we are all here to address them and put right any mistakes that have been made,” he added.
Mr Hatzidakis's team's mobilisation efforts paid off, with hundreds attending the Glasshouse. “Take the next election battle on your shoulders; the country's future is at stake,” he told New Democracy's young supporters.
The elections are approaching, and this is no time for... off-key notes at the ballot box.
SAMARAS: Meanwhile, the former prime minister continues to criticise the current New Democracy leadership's “managerial, neoliberal policy”.
In a written message marking the centenary of the Federation of Professional, Craft and Commercial Associations (OBES) of Kalamata, the former prime minister accused the government of focusing exclusively on “excessive primary surpluses, generated mainly by high indirect taxation”, while encouraging the “cartelisation of the economy at the expense of small and medium-sized businesses”.
He also stressed that the choice of which sectors to support or weaken was a “deeply political” decision, revealing indifference to the social consequences of economic policy.
Another attempt by the Messinian to dismantle the government's narrative...
QUEST: The group is keeping silent ahead of the 30 October deadline for Germany's GLS to decide whether to exercise its call option to buy the remaining 80% of ACS.
If the German company does not exercise the option, Quest will buy back the 20% stake in ACS held by GLS under the agreement, and a new buyer will be sought.
In the first half, ACS reported sales of €83.4m (+8.3%), EBITDA of €15.8m (+19%), pre-tax profit of €12.2m (+13.5%) and net profit of €9.68m (+32.7%).
However, it was up against an easier comparison, as its strong 2025 performance was recorded in the second half.
ORILINA: The real estate investment company (REIC) has signed a preliminary agreement to sell an office complex in New Kifissia for €44.54m. It bought the building from the Ellaktor group in 2019 for €25.5m, with Ellaktor remaining as tenant for 5+5 years.
After acquiring the property, Orilina invested in energy-efficiency upgrades. As at 30 June 2026, the property's acquisition cost stood at €26.6m and its valuation at €32.6m.
It was the second-largest asset in the property portfolio by value, accounting for 17.53% of total investments, behind the complex under development at Ellinikon (18.98%).
The REIC is locking in a return of more than 60% over seven years, with a capital gain of €11.94m.
KOUSTAS: As the column recently reported, Giannis Koustas's Danaos is looking to the Oslo stock exchange, considering listing its dry-bulk business in a separate company to highlight the value of a fleet currently reflected in the group's valuation.
The plan covers 11 Capesize bulkers and four newbuildings of the Newcastlemax class, with the vessels' combined value estimated at close to $1bn by VesselsValue.
Assuming debt equal to 50% of the fleet's value, an offering of 40% of the new company could amount to a transaction worth about $200m. Danaos is reportedly planning to retain a strong majority stake.
The main argument is the valuation gap: according to Clarksons Securities, Danaos shares were trading at 55% of net asset value (NAV), compared with an average of 94% for six listed dry-bulk companies. By contrast, Oslo-listed Himalaya Shipping is valued at 168% of NAV.
The Norwegian market may therefore offer a more favourable valuation environment. However, no final decisions or financial terms have been announced for a possible listing.
KORONIS: Chemnav Shipmanagement, whose owners are the Koronis family, is expanding its fleet with newbuildings and second-hand purchases. The Greek company has disclosed an order for two Suezmax tankers at China's Penglai Zhongbai Jinglu Ship Industry, bringing to four the number of vessels of this type it has under construction.
The two ships, each with a capacity of 158,000 dwt, are expected to be delivered in early 2030. Their cost is estimated at about $82m each, compared with a current average newbuilding price of about $90m, according to Clarksons.
Chemnav is also awaiting delivery of two more Suezmax tankers from China's New Times Shipbuilding in early 2029, while it has two MR2 tankers under construction in South Korea, due for delivery in 2027.
According to market sources, it has also acquired the LR2 tanker Elandra Firth for $63m. Its fleet now comprises 17 tankers in operation and six under construction.
MARTINOS: Signal, the group owned by Giannis Martinos, is making another acquisition in Greece, strengthening its presence in technology services for the shipping industry. The company announced on Thursday that it had acquired Lgmar, a Greek company that has spent 37 years developing electronic communications software for the maritime sector.
Lgmar was founded in 1989, when fax and telex were still key means of communication. It has a team of about 20 employees based in Athens, with Telix as its main product, and is run by Eleni Skourti.
Signal says the acquisition expands the group's services beyond freight-market information to include communication processes related to chartering and vessel operations. Ioannis Martinos said Lgmar's expertise would complement the group's existing businesses.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The move forms part of Signal's broader expansion strategy; in January, it acquired AXSMarine, a maritime intelligence and chartering optimisation company, from European shipbroking group BRS.
ALPHA-REAL ESTATE: On 26 May, Alpha Bank's management quietly decided to reorganise the group's corporate structure for real estate, creating a dedicated investment property division under the parent company and consolidating the property portfolio acquired through SPVs (Abinvest I, II, III).
Nothing has been announced since. Alpha Bank is due to report its third-quarter results on 30 October and present its new strategic growth plan at its investor day on 5 November, where the new structure of its real estate arm may be outlined, along with plans for its development and use.
ALPHA-REAL ESTATE II: At the beginning of the summer, the bank had an investment property portfolio worth around €500m. In addition, on 10 June Alpha increased its stake in Prodea REIC to 9.90%, receiving 1,071,200 new shares in exchange for bonds, while also embarking on a flurry of acquisitions.
On 9 July, Alpha subsidiary ABInvest I acquired 100% of KREVIX MAE, although it is unclear whether it paid any consideration beyond covering a €12.26m capital increase.
The same Alpha subsidiary acquired 100% of HREH 6 SINGLE MEMBER SOCIETE ANONYME on 29 July.
The acquired companies are involved in property management and leasing. Finally, another Alpha subsidiary acquired Danube Capital Partners S.à r.l., owner of a commercial office building in Bucharest.