ALAFOUZOS: News circulating yesterday evening caused a stir in the television market: Giannis Alafouzos, through SPOR FM TV, had won the rights to the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League for the four-year period 2027-2031.
Not because he had been declared the winner — there was only one competing bid, from Percapita, so he had a 50% chance of winning in any case — but because of the reported price, said to be between €300 million and €320 million!
The market raised its eyebrows in astonishment at that figure. It is not merely a huge price by Greek standards; it is almost... mythical, as we will explain.
Initial market estimates put the price at between €150 million and €200 million for the entire four-year period. A figure of €300 million-€320 million works out at €75 million-€80 million a year, for the rights alone.
That is before other operating expenses and production and distribution costs!
ALAFOUZOS II: For comparison, the annual cost of the equivalent package in the previous auction was reportedly in the region of €25 million-€30 million.
People we have spoken to believe that even a price above €200 million would be extremely difficult to justify commercially. The Relevent, which handled the tender on behalf of UEFA, is also said to have set its target at around €200 million.
So if the figure is correct, the desired target was exceeded by... 50%-60%!
To put the sums into perspective, Cosmote TV, the country’s largest subscription platform, had 802,443 subscribers at the end of September, according to OTE’s latest official figures.
Even with a subscriber base of that size, €75 million-€80 million a year works out at about €94-€100 per subscriber — assuming every subscriber wanted the package — just to acquire the rights.
That is before all the other costs!
Of course, a business owner may pay a premium to secure a strategic position in the market. But that is one thing; almost tripling the annual cost of the rights is another.
Rather strange…
NEW DEMOCRACY: The tradition of children of former ministers and MPs following in their footsteps and entering politics continues apace.
The latest case is Konstantinos Kalantzis, son of former Macedonia-Thrace minister Giorgos Kalantzis, who, it was announced yesterday, will stand for New Democracy in Kavala.
About a month ago, a similar move was made by Argyro Tragaki, daughter of Giannis Tragakis, an MP for Piraeus B.
Several other relatives of people who once occupied the same seats are now in Parliament for the governing party. They include Christos Dimas, son of former minister and European Commissioner Stavros Dimas; Christos Dermentzopoulos, son of former deputy minister Alexandros Dermentzopoulos; Kostas Skrekas, son of former MP Theodoros Skrekas; and Dimitris Kouvelas, son of former minister Sotiris Kouvelas.
Also on the list are Kostas Karagounis, son of former deputy minister Andreas Karagounis; Alexandros Markogiannakis, nephew of former minister Christos Markogiannakis; Nikos Panagiotopoulos, nephew of former minister Giorgos Panagiotopoulos; and Sevi Voloudaki, widow of Manousos Voloudakis.
Other names being discussed include the children of politicians who may be considering a bid for Parliament at the next election.
They include Thanasis Basiakos, son of the late former minister Evangelos Basiakos; Pola Damianou, daughter of former deputy minister Theodoros Damianou; Gerassimos Zagoritis, son of former New Democracy secretary Lefteris Zagoritis; Mikelis Hatzigakis, son of former minister Sotiris Hatzigakis; Giorgos Vlachogiannis, son of former MP Ilias Vlachogiannis; and Dimitris Karypidis, son of former MP Tasos Karypidis.
Olga Kefalogianni, daughter of former minister Giannis Kefalogiannis, also sits on the New Democracy benches, as does her cousin Kostas Kefalogiannis, along with Simos Kedikoglou, son of former minister Vasilis Kedikoglou.
The list also includes some of the biggest names: Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Dora Bakoyannis, children of former prime minister Konstantinos Mitsotakis, as well as Kostas Karamanlis, son of Achilleas and nephew of New Democracy founder Konstantinos Karamanlis.
And the list — not just in New Democracy but in other parties too, to be fair — keeps growing...
GSI: Reports have been mounting in recent hours that the long-awaited NAVTEX for the resumption of cable-laying surveys will probably be issued over the weekend.
According to the same sources, members of the special interministerial committee (ΕΧΑΕΘ), which operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were told on Monday, 2 November, that they should submit their recommendations on the project’s licensing by today.
If, as all indications suggest, the answer is positive, the Coast Guard will issue an “exemption permit” for the French-flagged vessel Abeille Marengo. The project management company will then formally request that a NAVTEX be issued. That request will subsequently be forwarded to the Ministry of National Defence, so that the Hellenic Navy’s Hydrographic Service can issue the NAVTEX in question.
It is said to take effect immediately, which means the French vessel, currently in the port of Heraklion, will set sail for the survey area.
The key question, of course, is how Turkey will respond. Aside from the understandings reached with the French side, many believe that with a new Congress in which the Democrats will hold control from early 2027, Ankara’s room to respond or escalate will be limited.
AVE: Listed company AVE has made a new business move, setting up SENA PROFESSIONAL S.A. on 5 November, according to data from the General Commercial Registry.
The new company, with initial capital of €100,000, will trade wholesale in detergents, paper products, cleaning products and other professional consumables. Its shareholding structure is noteworthy.
Half is owned by Cyprus-based AVE PARTICIPATION LIMITED, which is wholly owned by listed AVE S.A., associated with the Vardinoyannis family through Doson Investments Company. The other 50% belongs to businessman Hector-Ioannis Seilopoulos.
Seilopoulos will also serve as managing director and has a statutory right to appoint two of the five board members.
AVE, however, has ensured a strong presence in the company’s management. Three executives from the listed company sit on the five-member board: Apostolos Voulgaris, AVE’s chairman and CEO; Thomas Roumbas; and Nikolaos Tzanakis.
There is also an interesting provision in the articles of association. Financial and banking transactions of more than €1,000 require, in addition to Seilopoulos’s signature, that of either Roumbas or Tzanakis.
In other words, the new partner takes charge of the business, but AVE keeps a firm grip on the financial reins. It remains to be seen how the new company will be used in the context of the group’s existing commercial activities.
PROKOPOU: George Prokopiou is moving ahead with another significant sale of a Suezmax tanker, capitalising on surging demand for available vessels in the Middle East.
According to TradeWinds, Dynacom Tankers Management is in the process of selling the Fleves, a 158,500 dwt vessel built in 2012, to Dubai-based energy company BGN International.
The deal is reportedly valuing the vessel at up to $110 million. A key factor is its prompt delivery in the Middle East: it is already en route there, bound for the United Arab Emirates.
If completed, it will be the fifth older Suezmax sold by Dynacom in the past two months, with total proceeds approaching $500 million. Together with other sales, including a newbuild VLCC, Prokopiou’s proceeds from deals with buyers in the region are nearing $700 million.
Overall, Dynacom has sold 19 tankers on the second-hand and resale markets since the start of 2026, generating about $1.7 billion. At the same time, it is aggressively reinvesting the proceeds in new orders, having added at least 35 newbuild tankers to its orderbook this year, mainly VLCCs and Suezmaxes.
VASSILIADIS: Byron Vassiliadis is further expanding his presence in the VLCC market after Venergy Maritime exercised its options to build two additional supertankers at China’s Hengli Shipbuilding.
The move turns the initial order for two firm vessels and options for two more VLCCs, each with a capacity of 306,000 dwt, into an order for four ships, with deliveries scheduled for 2029.
The head of V Group attributed the decision to the very good working relationship with the Chinese shipyard, highlighting its expertise and the organisation of its facilities.
Vassiliadis’s orderbook now stands at 34 ships, worth more than $2 billion, contracted over the past 16 months. Of these, 26 are tankers for Venergy and eight are containerships for affiliated OceanV Maritime.
The partnership with Hengli also includes four Suezmaxes, while the Greek shipowner has orders at other Chinese and South Korean shipyards as well.
EFTHYMIADIS: Leon Shipping & Trading, whose interests are linked to Panos Efthimiadis, has ordered two MR product tankers, each with a capacity of 50,000 dwt, in China.
According to Clarksons, the vessels are being built at Cosco Heavy Industry (Guangdong), with delivery scheduled for March and August 2029. The price of the order has not been disclosed, while the estimated price of a newbuild MR stands at $52.9 million.
At the same time, the Greek shipowner is reportedly moving ahead with the sale of the MR Leon Wisdom (50,000 dwt, built in 2008) for $26 million, despite an imminent dry-docking. VesselsValue estimates the ship’s value at $24 million.
The vessel was bought from International Seaways in early 2026 for $16 million. If the sale is confirmed, it will generate a significant capital gain, following the sale of its sister ship Leon Grace last month for $23.5 million.
The two vessels were bought for a total of $32 million, and their sales are expected to generate a profit of about $17.5 million.
Leon Shipping & Trading was founded in 2010 by Panos Efthimiadis, after his 22 years with the family-owned Lotus Shipping. According to Clarksons, the company also controls two Panamax crude oil tankers built in 2006.
COCA-COLA HBC: The day had looked... sunny for the listed company with the largest market capitalisation. The shares opened higher and buying took them as high as €60.4, up 2.72%.
Just as the stock seemed on course for a record closing high, news came from Russia: the JTI nationalisation and reports from Kommersant that a proposal had been made for the group’s two subsidiaries in the country to follow suit.
The result was a wave of selling that drove the shares down to €50.5, leaving them 14.2% lower and just above the day’s low.
In other words, a single session “wiped out” a total of €3.097 billion! in market capitalisation. Certainly one of the biggest losses in the stock market’s history.
P.S. The company is now valued at €18.85 billion. Although the fall in London was even steeper, analysts believe the market has priced in a complete loss of the value of its Russian operations, suggesting an element of overreaction.