Vgenopoulos confident on EUR 5.2 bln capital increase success

Marfin strong-man Andreas Vgenopoulos has expressed his full confidence that the EUR 5.2 bln planned capital increase by Marfin Investment Group will be successful, describing the effort as the second largest capital increase made during 2007 globally and the sixth largest ever made.

Brushing aside rumours that the Marfin Group may be interested in Alpha Bank, Vgenopoulos said the current shareholding and Board structure of Alpha Bank does not allow for such a move, but he would not rule out acting as a “White Knight” in the event that a major Greek bank becomes a target.

Speculation on Alpha Bank becoming a target has recently increased after the Hedge Fund Centraurus, a Paris based fund run by former BNP Paribas people increased its stake in Alpha Bank to 5%.

Referring to its intentions on Bank of Cyprus in which MPB holds a 8.2% stake, Vgenopoulos said the stake may either be sold, added, but he ruled out transferring the stake to MIG.

Vgenopoulos told Greek journalists that the recent sharp appreciation in the share price of MIG from 8 euros to 16.50 euros in three sessions is not backed by fundamentals, characterising it “as beyond logic.”

Clarifying on the planned EUR 5.2 bln capital increase, he revealed that the Dubai Financial Group will most likely contribute EUR 500 mln, with another EUR 500 mln being subscribed by Dubai Financial Group clients, giving Dubai based subscribers about 20% control.
The remaining amount will be raised from foreign investors, with any one group contributing above EUR 100 mln in the capital increase having a say in the Advisory Board in charge of investment selections.

When the capital increase is completed, MIG will also have the ability to raise a further amount of EUR 10 bln in debt, making it one of the largest players in south east Europe.