Greece’s privatisation agency has picked Grimaldi Group as its preferred bidder for a controlling stake in the port of Heraklion, the biggest city on the island of Crete.
Grimaldi and its Greek ferry unit Minoan Lines offered €80m ($86.4m) for a 67% stake in the Heraklion Port Authority.
This is Grimaldi’s second acquisition in Greece after an €84.7m deal last year to buy the same stake in the Igoumenitsa Port Authority in north-western Greece.
Grimaldi and Minoan are major clients of both ports.
Igoumenitsa is one of Greece’s main gateways to Italy. Heraklion, by contrast, is a domestic, thriving passenger and cargo port that links the mainland to Crete, Greece’s biggest island and a major tourism destination.
The Heraklion sale is still subject to audits and court approvals.
“The high price offered … underlines the commitment of the international investment community in the development prospects of the port of Heraklion, Crete and the Greek economy as a whole,” the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund privatisation agency said on Monday.
To raise cash, cut debt and boost its economy, the heavily indebted country has already ceded control of its two biggest ports, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, and is readying to sell more.
Grimaldi owns several port terminals across Europe but none previously in Greece.
The Heraklion Port Authority has exclusive usage rights over the city’s harbour infrastructure until 2063.
Alongside traditional cargo ship, cruise ship and ferry activity, the port authority used to manage the city’s old Venetian port fortress. The tourist attraction, however, has been exempted from the privatisation.
