Greece concludes post-crisis bank privatisations with 10% stake sale in National Bank

By Lefteris Papadimas

ATHENS (Reuters) -Greece concluded on Thursday the re-privatisation of its lenders with the sale of a 10% stake in National Bank (NBG) amid strong demand from investors, the bank bailout fund said.

The sale raised 690 million euros ($760.93 million), which will be used to help Greece reduce its pile of public debt, the euro zone's biggest as a percentage of economic output.

The Greek state-controlled bank bailout fund HFSF sold 91.4 million shares in National Bank, Greece's second largest by market value, for 7.55 euros per share, through a book-building process and a public offer in Greece which ended on Wednesday.

The valuation was at the middle of the initial pricing indication of 7.3-7.95 euros a share, the fund said in a press release.

"There was strong demand from foreign and domestic investors with the offering oversubscribed by 12 times," an official involved in the process told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

HFSF, which was launched in 2010, began divesting its stakes in Greece's four largest lenders last year after injecting about 50 billion euros to prop them up in return for shares during the 2009-2018 debt crisis.

Following the sale, HFSF will transfer a remaining 8.4% stake in National Bank to Greece's sovereign wealth fund.

HFSF sold its stakes in Eurobank, Alpha Bank and 22% of National Bank late in 2023, after Greece won back its investment grade credit rating, and 27% in Piraeus Bank earlier this year.

The move was seen by investors as a sign of Greece's economic recovery, although many ordinary Greeks are still suffering the long-term effects of the crisis.

Shares are likely to be allocated later on Thursday.

J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, UBS, BofA Securities, BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets and Deutsche Bank acted as joint bookrunners.

($1 = 0.9068 euros)

(Reporting by Lefteris PapadimasEditing by Kim Coghill and Gareth Jones)