Investors bid for 33% stake in OPAP Greece

Two investor groups have reportedly submitted bids for a 33% stake in Greece's betting monopoly OPAP, the first big privatisation under the country's bailout plan.

The bidders are U.S. hedge fund Third Point and a group including Czech investor Jiri Smecj, Greek shipowner George Melisanidis and Greek businessman Dimitris Copelouzos, the official who declined to be named, said.

"We are closing with those two bids," an official was quoted by Reuters. It remained unclear if Third Point has bid alone or with partners.

State-run OPAP, the most profitable firm on the Athens stock market, is a test case for Greece's ambitious privatisation programme, a key element in its 240-billion euro EU/IMF bailout.

A 33% stake in OPAP is worth about 730 mln euros ($952.1 mln), based on the company's market cap estimated on the Athens bourse.

Initially, eight groups of investors, including Israel's Playtech, Chinese conglomerate Fosun and private equity firm BC Partners, had expressed interest in the sell-off.