Attica Group and ANEK Lines — two of Greece’s best-known ferry companies — are exploring a merger to overcome financial problems and defend their market position, a newspaper has reported.
The companies are in "advanced talks" about Attica absorbing ANEK, Greek Sunday paper Kathimerini said.
Managers at ANEK did not respond to TradeWinds' request for comment. Attica pointed to a statement it filed on the Athens Stock Exchange on 12 October, in which it declined to comment and said it was "constantly examining" options to develop in Greece and abroad.
Attica is the much bigger of the two entities, with a fleet of 30 ships and a market capitalisation of close to €228m ($264m) as of 8 October.
ANEK has eight ships and a market capitalisation of €16.3m on the Athens Stock Exchange.
Attica shares dropped 2.8% on 11 October. ANEK stock, which has been trading for eight years in a restricted, supervised manner, given the company’s fragile financial position, shed 1.4%.
The free float of both companies' shares is limited.
Commanding heights
According to Kathimerini, the driving force behind the merger talks is Piraeus Bank, a lender that holds a commanding stake in both companies, either directly or indirectly.
Like other Greek banks, Piraeus is restructuring and selling assets as part of the European-funded bailout during the country’s debt crisis.
Piraeus was instrumental in a previous consolidation move in Greece’s ferry industry four years ago, when Attica absorbed former rival Hellenic Seaways.
A merger between ANEK and Attica would help ANEK resolve balance sheet problems while boosting Attica’s fleet to a size that would make it attractive for new investors, Kathimerini wrote.
The companies have been spilling red ink in the wake of the coronavirus. Attica reported a net loss of €34m in the first half of the year, compared with a €41m loss in the same period of 2020. ANEK slightly narrowed its loss from €13.2m to €12.1m.
Greek ferry companies typically have their best financial performance in the third quarter, when tourism flourishes on the country's islands. Any benefits from an uptick in traffic, however, threaten to be offset by higher bunker costs amid rising international energy prices.
Despite the downturn, Attica has installed scrubbers on four of its ships to comply with tighter environmental regulation. Furthermore, it ordered three catamarans at Brodrene Aa shipyard in Norway, which it intends to employ on busy island routes near Athens.
ANEK and Attica's biggest domestic rivals are Grimaldi-controlled Minoan Lines and Marios Iliopoulos-led Seajets.
