GREECE WINNER - NIKOS FRAGOS
DEAL: Public Sector Pension Investment Board of Canada acquires interest in Athens International Airport
NAME: Nikos Fragos COMPANY: KARATZAS & PARTNERS LAW FIRM POSITION: Partner TEL: +30 210 3713 600 FAX: +30 210 3234 363 EMAIL:
n.fragos@
karatza-partners.gr
FIRM PROFILE
Established in 1963, Karatzas & Partners offers legal services across the entire spectrum of commercial and financial law, including banking and finance, capital markets, general corporate and commercial law, competition law, energy law, project finance, intellectual property law, M&A, real estate, telecommunications law, as well as employment and tax law. The firm is also known for its strong litigation department representing clients in litigation and arbitration procedures in Greece and abroad as regards all the above matters. At the same time, we maintain a wide network of co-operating lawyers throughout Greece while having traditionally established strong cooperation relationships with top-tier international law firms.
In view of our leading position in the Greek legal market, we are routinely rated by such legal directories as Chambers Global, IFLR and Legal 500 among the first-tier Greek legal firms, and our partners among the top lawyers in Greece. Our firm has received the IFLR Award for best Greek law firm in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013, the IFLR Europe Women in Business Law award for best Greek law firm in 2011, 2012 and 2013, as well as the Greek law firm of the year award by Chambers Europe in 2011. On the 23rd of September Karatzas & Partners has also received the American Lawyer Global Legal Awards for the “Global Finance Deal of the Year for Greece’s Debt Restructuring” as well as the “Grand Prize 2013 for Global Finance”.
Our firm boasts a particularly strong M&A and corporate reorganization practice, having represented clients in highlight transactions in Greece, both national and cross-border. We have advised in all the large acquisition transactions that were completed in the past years in Greece which were structured as LBOs, either as local counsel to the purchasers or to the financiers where we had the opportunity to combine our strong banking and M&A expertise.
DEAL OVERVIEW
Karatzas & Partners advised Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP) as to matters of Greek law regarding the purchase of the shareholding of Hochtief AirPort GmbH in the Athens International Airport S.A as part of Hochtief AG’s sale of its airports division (holding interests in the airports of Athens,
Budapest, Duesseldorf, Hamburg, Sydney and Tirana) to PSP Investments. Subject to closing adjustments the value of the above acquisition amounted to approx. EUR 1.1 billion.
The Karatzas & Partners team, led by partner Nikos Fragos, completed successfully a due
Deal Maker of the Year Awards 2013
KARATZAS & PARTNERS LAW FIRM
diligence exercise covering complex matters of corporate standing, governance and business affairs of the Athens International Airport. In parallel, the firm rendered legal advice as to various transaction-related concepts of the Athens Airport Development Agreement (ADA) entered into between the shareholders of the Athens International Airport and the Hellenic Republic. In particular, the advising team was asked to provide ad hoc advice and guidance as to the interpretation, impact and dynamics of the various prior-consent and change- of-control mechanisms of the ADA, posing notably the key challenges towards a successful completion of the transaction. Thanks to the close collaboration and the joined efforts with Linklaters, acting as international counsel to PSP, the above challenges and difficulties were managed with maximum efficiency ensuring a smooth path to closing of the transaction.
There is no doubt that the successful investment of PSP into Athens International Airport is a strong signal that investor confidence is gradually restored in the Greek market and that Greek country risk is expected soon to improve. Thanks to very low valuations and as market players start again to explore potential long-term opportunities in Greek assets we are moderately optimistic for an increased transactional mobility, in particular in the M&A and equity market sectors in 2014 and onwards.
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