According to industry reports, Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. is ready to again attempt to acquire a stake in the National Bank of Greece SA’s insurance segment, Ethniki Insurance, should its proposed deal with Exin Financial Services Holding and Calamos Family Partners Inc deteriorate.
Exin and Calamos Family Partners previously won a tender to acquire Ethniki Insurance in June, 2017, after submitting the highest bid of $882 million. However, industry reports suggest that Exin, which is the insurance and reinsurance group established by Matt Fairfield, previously the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ANV, might not be able to come up with sufficient commitments to fund its takeover of the insurance unit.
Bloomberg reports that Calamos has filed legal action against Exin, with the latter now having until the end of March, 2018 to come up with the financing to complete the deal, which could signal an opportunity for Fosun to again attempt to strike a deal with the insurance unit.
In a written response to Bloomberg, Fosun Executive Director and Senior Vice President, Kang Lan, said “Fosun has continuously been interested in becoming the controlling shareholder of Ethniki Insurance.
“Fosun’s strategy and strong confidence in the company were well recognized by the seller. Therefore, we expect to be considered if Exin failed to complete the deal.”
Kang also told Bloomberg that before providing an updated offer, Fosun will “need to re-evaluate the financials of the company”.
China’s Fosun had previously been cited as a bidder, but Exin became the favourite to strike a deal. However, with the proposed deal taking months to complete, Fosun now says it is open to another shot at buying Ethniki.
