An offer for National Bank’s insurance business by Calamos and Exin will be hard to match, partly because of the cultural and commercial links they have with Greece, the investment duo’s chief executives said, according to Reuters.
John Koudounis, CEO of Chicago-based Calamos Investments, reckons a Greek-American background is a major advantage in taking on Chinese groups Fosun (0656.HK), Shanghai-based Gongbao and Wintime to buy National Insurance.
The pair are up against three Chinese groups looking to buy at least 75 percent of National Bank’s (NBGr.AT) insurance unit as part of a regulator-approved restructuring plan by Greece’s second-largest lender by assets to exit non-banking operations.
John Calamos Sr., Chicago money manager of Greek descent and Calamos’ founder, has said in the past that he sees “compelling opportunities” for investments in many Greek sectors despite a long-running economic crisis, as TNH has reported last summer.
Greece’s oldest insurer, which was founded in 1891, provides life and non-life insurance products, had a 16.6 percent share of the market last year and 2015 net profit of 98 million euros.
“We know the insurance market and we know Greece. We are long-term investors and will be in Greece to stay,” Koudounis, whose Calamos fund has $20 billion under management, Koudounis said.
“We are very confident that the entire package we bring to the table in this process will be unmatched,” he said, adding that the deal is being closely watched by other prominent Greek-American investors who were “ready to pile in” to Greece.
Speaking to the business newspaper Naftemporiki on the sidelines of The Economist’s annual conference, Calamos said last summer that Greece still has the potential to attract foreign capital although an avalanche of new taxes and political uncertainty have slowed interest.
The founder of Calamos Investments and its long-time CEO said however that the ruling Radical Left SYRIZA coalition that has reneged on anti-austerity promises needs to provide incentives for the country’s young educated who are fleeing the country in droves because they can’t find work or hope.
He said the government has to have clear and simple rules and “fair play” in the country’s business and markets although it has a reputation for corruption and favoritism.
He told the newspaper that capital flows to places where tax policies and regulations support entrepreneurship and responsible risk taking, including in the small business sector.
“By embracing privatization more fully, I believe that Greece will become a better destination for capital—both foreign investment capital and human capital. People go to where they are treated best, which is a driving force in migration today,” he said.
Read Reuters full report here: http://reut.rs/2oXkqPu
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