ATHENS--Greece's privatization agency said Wednesday that it was
ready to move ahead with the sale of gambling monopoly OPAP SA
(OPAP.AT), marking another step toward jumpstarting the country's
moribund privatization program.
In a statement, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund
said a board meeting would be convened next Wednesday, Sept. 19,
during which the board would takes steps to launch "the
international tender process for the sale of 29% shares in
OPAP."
The company is one of the crown jewels of Greece's privatization
program. The move comes a day after the agency--following months of
delay--announced similar steps to push forward with a flagship,
multi-billion euro property tender and proceed with the sale of the
country's natural gas monopoly.
At its meeting next week, the board is also expected to name the
winning bidder in an estimated 200 million euro ($257.8 million)
tender to operate Greece's national lotteries for 12
years--effectively completing the country's first privatization so
far this year.
Greece's privatization program is a key part of a broader plan
put together by its international creditors to pare its massive
debt burden and attract investment into its recession-ravaged
economy.
But the program has gotten off to a slow start. Originally
tasked with selling up to EUR50 billion in assets by 2015, the
privatization agency is now struggling to meet even its reduced
target of EUR19 billion by that year.
Earlier this year, amid the political uncertainty surrounding
Greece's back-to-back elections in May and June, the agency froze
the privatization program altogether and its chairman resigned. As
a result, the agency looks unlikely to meet even this year's goal
of raising EUR3 billion from privatizations.
The share sale in OPAP, which has an overall market
capitalization of around EUR2 billion, could help. But the
privatization has also been held up by concerns from the European
Commission's competition agency over Greece's differential tax and
regulatory treatment of OPAP.
The company, which is both state-controlled and holds an
exclusive gambling monopoly through 2020, enjoys a favorable tax
rate on some of its gaming operations, something that has drawn
complaints from privately owned betting companies.
But according to agency officials, those concerns have been
overcome, with the commission withdrawing objections blocking the
OPAP sale.
Write to Alkman Granitsas at alkman.granitsas@dowjones.com
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