Greece shortlists Glencore, Vitol in Hellenic Petroleum majority stake sale

ATHENS, July 18 (Reuters) - Greece has shortlisted Anglo-Swiss Glencore and Swiss Vitol to submit a binding bid for a majority stake in the country's biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum, its privatisation agency said on Wednesday.

Athens last month received five expressions of interest for a 50.1 percent stake that Greece and Paneuropean Oil and Industrial Holdings jointly hold in Hellenic in one of the biggest asset sales under the country's three international bailouts since 2010.

Along with Glencore Energy UK and Vitol Holding B.V., initial interest was also submitted by Alrai Group Holdings Limited, a consortium comprising Carbon Asset Management DWC-LLC and Alshaheen Group and the Gupta Family Group Alliance.

But the country's privatisation agency said earlier this month that the three schemes "did not meet the criteria to participate in the second phase of the tender". It had not named those shortlisted.

The agency said on Wednesday that the two investors will be granted access to Hellenic's data and information once they sign confidentiality agreements. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)