GUILFOYLE: Satisfaction prevails in the circle of Antonis Samaras over the meeting he had with the US ambassador in Athens and the related post she made on her personal X account.
As Kimberly Guilfoyle noted, within the framework of her responsibilities, she is committed to working with important figures from across the country’s political spectrum, and continued: “I recently had an excellent meeting with former Prime Minister Antonis Samaras to discuss relations between the United States and Greece”.
A little earlier, the American ambassador made a similar post about her meeting with the new Secretary of ND, Konstantinos Kyranakis. “We discussed how the United States and Greece can continue to expand American investments, strengthen innovation, and create jobs on both sides of the Atlantic”, she wrote.
It is also called the politics of balance.
VISKADOURAKIS: Ready to move onto the central political stage, through the ND ballot, actor and Attica regional councilor with Nikos Hardalias, Thanasis Viskadourakis, declares himself.
In television interviews (Action24, SKAI), he made it known that he has already spoken with a person from the Maximos Mansion and that a meeting with the prime minister may follow.
“I think that if I look back and say yes, which will be an honor for me if he calls me, what else can I do but thank God? What should I say? If I look back at the hard years, the basements, that a child is called by the leader of the state, the prime minister, and tells you ‘come here my child,’ what can I say? What will little Thanasis say? Of course I am here, because it is a gift from God. Regardless now of the political disputes, which I do not get into”, the actor stressed, who is intended for Athens A.
Yet another case of a showbiz representative who is… looking toward the seats of Parliament.
KARYSTIANOU: Castles fall from within, as is well known. And Maria Karystianou realized that this was in danger of happening in “Hope for Democracy”, and so she proceeded with public complaints and the announcement of changes. Some leaks to the media had preceded this, which, as it turned out, were made without the leadership’s knowledge, hence what followed.
As Maria of Tempi noted in a post on Facebook, “Many well-wishers came beside me. To help… purely, they said, and they entered our groups. Supposedly we were guided by the same vision: the homeland and our children, the future of our country! ”
She herself, as she emphasizes, did not impose “party” rules, nor did she appoint people “of her own”, until “the revelation came: I learned about power games, purchases of candidacies and the underground formation of ballots… About expulsions of citizens due to different ideology, even about blackmail… even toward me”.
The System, according to Ms. Karystianou, “knows the game well, we were inexperienced in it. But now we know what entanglement is, from within as well. HOPE, therefore, is changing form! It is ‘cleaning itself up’ and continuing. Far from agendas and accommodations. Far from those who could not turn the ‘I’ into ‘WE’”.
A difficult equation, especially for a new politician.
TSIPRAS: The premiere for the “shadow ministers” of ELAS provided material for semiologists of every kind.
Some considered Alexis Tsipras’ move to have on his right the Justice sector head, former (until last year) vice president of the Supreme Court, Maria Lepenioti, and on his left the Education sector head, Ioanna Laliotou, as a message about the fields of action on which he is betting a lot — as well as about the political utilization of the two ladies.
Others observed that most of those “from PASOK stock” sat side by side, ignoring the “name cards” that had been placed on the seats. “Logical, they come from the same space, know each other better among themselves, and familiarity combined with the awkwardness of the first intra-party coexistence with all the sector heads brought them close”, was the explanation.
And some discerned an anxiety in many speakers to “marry” daily political intervention with their area of responsibility, since they are participating for the first time in a party body and, indeed, one of high demands.
All together, moreover, they gave… kudos to Marinos Skandamis for the immediate response to Anna Diamantopoulou, who hurried to remind that he himself was Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice under the Samaras government and therefore it is ironic for him now to appear as anti-right.
What did the current ELAS head of the Citizen Protection sector reply? That the “Samaras government” was a coalition government of ND-PASOK, so he, like other PASOK officials, found themselves in positions of responsibility in that governmental scheme.
And as many reasonably observed, “will Ms. Diamantopoulou also mock Evangelos Venizelos for his political positions because he was vice president of that government as PASOK president?”.
That is also correct.
PLAISIO: Renewal is signaled by the new composition of the Board of Directors of Plaisio.
Konstantinos Gerardos remains chairman and chief executive officer, keeping the company’s helm. In the new five-member board, however, Athanasios Zarkalis enters, with a long tenure at Wind and Vodafone, as vice chairman and non-executive member.
Among the new faces are Spiros Poulidas, with a tenure of nearly four decades at IBM, and Konstantinos-Petros Kyrkinis, co-founder of efood, as independent non-executive members.
ARES: Over the last two years, the (European) investment team that manages the private equity funds of Ares Management has approached a series of large domestic listed companies, with corporate developments (acquisitions, capital increases, etc.), proposing to place significant capital, but with a specific, aggressive strategy.
In several cases the strategy provided for partnering with the main shareholder, so that the company would become private and be relisted on an organized stock market, after the completion of acquisitions and other transformation moves.
In at least two listed companies, the above proposals were rejected, either because the proposed strategy did not “fit” with that of the main shareholders, or for other reasons as well (e.g. high financing cost, difficult clauses, etc.).
Having a background from previous work at private equity fund (Apollo), Ares’ management team appears to be following the same aggressive tactic in new approaches it has made to domestic companies.
XYDAKIS: Businessman Konstantinos Xydakis founded KX-ID Holding with initial capital of 550,000 euros and the exclusive object of managing holdings.
The articles of association do not reveal which companies or assets will pass to the new holding, however such moves usually precede the concentration of holdings or new investments.
REAL ESTATE: MAAS IKE is entering the construction and real estate market with capital of 2 million euros.
Zana Abdulfattah Taw Jakmarak and Goran Latif Omer Omer hold 49.5% each, contributing 990,000 euros apiece, while the remaining 1% belongs to manager Dara Reza.
KONTOKALI BAY: The Voulgari family is creating Aulaki Holding with capital of 3 million euros, with the company of Kontokali Bay Resort & Spa as sole shareholder.
Spyridon Charalambos Voulgaris assumes the role of chairman and chief executive officer, while family members participate in the Board of Directors. This is not a new hotel investment, but a corporate reorganization that strengthens control of the group’s holdings.
TOURISM: Luxury Catamaran Greece starts with capital of 360,000 euros and two main partners. PITAROKOILIS O.E. acquires 65.3%, contributing 235,000 euros, while STAMATAKIS COMPANY IKE holds 34.7% with a contribution of 125,000 euros. The scheme is betting on premium maritime services.
TOURISM II: EVERANTIPAROS IKE starts with capital of 235,000 euros and four shareholders.
Giorgos Bitharas, of the well-known business family that owns BSB and more, and EverExcel hold 31.5% each, Athanasios Panourgias 30% and Nikolaos Oikonomidis 7%.
The business plan combines hospitality, real estate and maritime tourism.
NIKIUM: With initial capital of 2.835 million euros, NikiUm S.A. is entering the construction and property development market.
The articles of association provide, beyond buildings, for participations in other companies and the establishment of subsidiaries.
Shareholders of the new company are members of the Chanikian family and YPEROS IKE, which controls 55% of the capital.
WINE: Apostolos Thymiopoulos is converting his sole proprietorship into an S.A. with capital of 2.2 million euros.
The contribution of the business was valued at 2.1 million euros, while Eleftheria Tsitsipa participates with 100,000 euros. The new articles of association are not limited to wine, but also open the way for tourism and hotel activities.
ANTISEL: Anastasia Selidou is concentrating control of ANTISEL in a new investment vehicle, founding Aurelis Thea with share capital of 33.56 million euros.
Into the new holding she contributes 50% of ANTISEL, a stake valued at approximately 33.5 million euros, while the company will be able to acquire holdings, finance subsidiaries and provide guarantees.
ANTISEL is one of the largest suppliers of scientific, laboratory and hospital equipment in Greece, with activity extending from biological and chemical materials to IT solutions and representations of specialized equipment.
DOTSOFT: Today we have found ourselves in a somewhat difficult position. We have nothing against the company, while in general we hold in esteem both sides of the recent sale and purchase of 40% of the company listed on EN.A. Growth.
That is, Diorama of Dimitris Daskalopoulos, which acquired that stake — and DECA Investments, which is the fund manager — as well as stockbroker and businessman Giuseppe Tziano, who, together with Anastasios Manos, chairman and chief executive officer of Dotsoft, was among the main sellers.
Only this time, on the issue of announcements, they made a bit of a… mess.
In the first announcement, which concerns — we remind you — a big deal for the company, of very great interest to the remaining shareholders, it is stated that Diorama bought. On the sellers’ side, however, only the smaller sellers appear and not the main ones, namely Manos and Tziano. A significant omission.
In the second announcement, the next day, which is... more complete, the latter two also appear, so the investor can now form a picture of what exactly happened, who sold and how many shares.
With one very important — perhaps the most important — omission. The… transaction price.
Before you rush to answer that there is no obligation to announce the price on EN.A., which is a Multilateral Trading Facility — and this is correct as a general principle — let us note a few things.
DOTSOFT II: From the announcements so far, which were made without reference to a price, it follows that both the sellers and the buyer agreed not to announce the consideration. Otherwise, they would already have done so.
Most likely because the transaction was carried out at a very deep discount compared with the price shown that day on stock market screens.
Reasonable, in one sense, since the liquidity of shares on EN.A. is generally from limited to downright… pitiful.
There is, however, a subtle point. Anastasios Manos, apart from being a shareholder, is chairman and chief executive officer of the company.
So, if we are reading the relevant article of the legislation correctly (Article 19 of the Market Abuse Regulation of the EU, which also applies in Greece and also covers Multilateral Trading Facilities) the following are provided:
“Persons discharging managerial responsibilities, as well as persons closely associated with them, shall notify the issuer and the competent authority of every transaction conducted on their own account relating to the shares or debt instruments of that issuer, no later than three business days after the transaction.”
With the note that the notification includes “the price and volume of the transactions”
Which means that, for Mr. Manos in particular, there is an obligation to disclose not only the number of shares he sold, but also the price, which will cease to be a… riddle, since it must be announced within days.
So, what is the point of all this secrecy? Did they not know?