Invel holds 98.5 pct in NBG Pangaea

Invel Real Estate (Invel) on Thursday announced it has taken full control of NBG Pangaea REIC after the acquisition of National Bank’s equity stake by Invel Real Estate BV (29.8 pct) and CLHermes Opportunities LP (2.9 pct) for 390 million euros, raising its equity stake in Pangaea to 98.5 pct. Invel successfully financed a call option to buy the remaining 32.7 pct of Pangaea as announced in March 31.

In an announcement, Invel said its investment in Pangaea exceeds 1.0 billion euros, making the company the biggest investor in the Greek real estate market.

The strong support offered by EBRD, in the form of credit facility, to the investment group led by Invel to complete the call option, is a vote of confidence both in the Greek economy and in the new chapter of Pangaea. EBRD offered credit worth 55 million euros to the investment group.

The majority of the financing to complete the call option, worth around 250 million euros, was secured by investment capital of Invel’s main shareholders, Castlelake fund, Coller Capital and other institutional investors coordinated by Goldman Sachs. The remaining sum to complete the 390 million euros price for the call option was covered by a consortium of Greek and Cypriot banks led by Piraeus Bank and EBRD’s credit. Christoforos Papachristoforou, founder and CEO of Invel, commenting on the completion of the call option, pledged to transform Pangaea into a real national champion in the real estate and tourist infrastructure market.