Italian ferry conglomerate Grimaldi Group’s plan to take over Hellenic Seaways (HSW), Greece’s largest ferry operator, has been thwarted by Attica Group’s purchase of a controlling interest in the company. 

With its hopes of domination dashed, the question now is whether Grimaldi will retain its large stake.

The surprise announcement by Greek ferry company Attica that it had reached an agreement in principle with Piraeus Bank and other minority shareholders for the HSW takeover deal came last Friday. 

Under the agreement, Attica will acquire a 50.3% stake in HSW for €30.61m ($36m) — payable in cash and 24,145,523 new common registered Attica shares to be issued pursuant to a share capital increase.

The deal has effectively ended Grimaldi’s plan to take complete control of HSW.

Grimaldi has built up a 49% stake in HSW and made no secret of its desire to acquire the remainder of the business. 

But the Italian company’s campaign to buy out small shareholders was been held in check by HSW chief executive Antonis Agapitos, who was backed by Piraeus Bank.

Observers in Greece tell TradeWinds that Grimaldi’s relationship with HSW’s senior management had not been an easy one. 

Piraeus Bank, which holds a 40.4% stake in HSW, revealed early this year that it was soliciting bids for its shares in the company.

 In March, it looked as if Marios Iliopoulos of domestic ferry player Seajets would be bidding against Grimaldi for control. As late as last month, Iliopoulos was still regarded as the frontrunner

With Attica now set to gain the majority interest in HSW, all eyes are on Grimaldi to see whether it will be prepared to remain as a minority shareholder. 

Its substantial stake in the company is believed to be too large a holding for it to be subject to a compulsory takeover.

The HSW deal gives Attica the largest share of the Greek ferry market as it already owns two of Greece’s five big ferry companies: Blue Star Ferries, which operates in the domestic market; and Superfast Ferries, which operates between Greece and Italy.

Grimaldi has a controlling 89.9% stake in Minoan Lines, which operates on both domestic and international routes.

The HSW fleet comprises eight conventional ropax ferries and seven high-speed catamarans and hydrofoils. The company operates a network of domestic routes around the Aegean.