M ore than a week after the bid deadline for Greek Telecom Wind Hellas passed, PPF Partners has made a €200 million offer for the financially troubled company. PPF’s bid is being looked at by creditors along with competing bids from Weather Investments and subordinated bond holders, both of whom are trying to gain complete control of Wind Hellas.
The PPF bid, which is backed by PPF Group’s Petr Kellner, includes an additional €500 million to fuel acquisitions in the Greek telecom market. Wind Hellas has been on the block since a restructuring plan got underway in August. One of the concerns with the PPF bid is the perception of a lack of due diligence on the part of PPF.
Wind Hellas (www.wind.com.gr)
Wind Hellas is a Greek telecom company founded in 1992 and acquired in 2007 by Egyptian holding company Weather Investments. Wind Hellas provides a variety of mobile telephony products and services to more than 4 million customers throughout Greece and the company’s €1.1 billion annual turnover makes it one of the country’s largest telecom operators. Wind Hellas is based in Athens and employs more than 1,700 people.
PPF Group (www.ppf.cz)
PPF group was established in 1991 in the Czech Republic and has since grown into one of the largest investment groups in CEE.
Based in Amsterdam, PPF Group is a financial services company active in private and commercial banking in Central & Eastern Europe, Russia, the CIS, and Asia. Additionally PPF makes private equity and real estate investments. Strategic investments are carried out by the group’s holding company PPF Group N.V., also based in Amsterdam. In addition to the company’s full ownership of Home Credit B.V., it’s also part owner of JV Generali PPF Holding, PPF banka a.s., and PPF a.s.
