Bernitsas has advised Thrivest Holding on its agreement with the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund to create the "fifth banking pillar in Greece." Argyropoulos, Gissaki & Associates reportedly advised Thrivest Holding as well.
The transaction remains contingent on regulatory approval.
According to Bernitsas, Thrivest Holding is a holding company owned by Greek entrepreneurs. The firm reported that "Thrivest is a significant shareholder of each of Pancreta Bank and Attica Bank and the HFSF is a significant shareholder of Attica Bank. The agreement provides for the merger of Pancreta Bank into Attica Bank, and, subject to completion of the merger, a subsequent investment of up to EUR 675.1 million in the combined bank by Thrivest and the HFSF, of which up to EUR 200 million would be invested by Thrivest and up to EUR 475.1 million by the HFSF, pursuant to a combination of a rights issue and issuance of warrants to be made to raise up to EUR 735 million. At the completion of the capital raising, Thrivest would hold a controlling stake in the combined bank."
The Bernitsas team included Partners Nikos Papachristopoulos and Maria Nefeli Bernitsa.
Bernitsas did not respond to our inquiry on the matter.
Editor's Note: After this article was published, Koutalidis announced it advised HFSF on the transaction. The firm's team was led by Managing Partner Nikos Koritsas.
