Fosun Moves Closer to Acquiring $1.26 Bil Greek Site

Chinese investment conglomerate Fosun International has apparently locked up a deal to acquire a 620-hectare seaside site in Athens for a Euros 915 million ($1.26 billion) real estate project.

According to a report by Reuters, Fosun, together with Greek partner Lamda Development and Abu Dhabi real estate firm Al Maabar has successfully bid for the project after raising its initial offer by 25 percent, although official approval has yet to be announced. The Fosun group were the only bidders for the site.

The site was formerly home to Athens’ Hellenikon airport, and is considered a prime location. An official from Greece’s Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) privatisation agency told Reuters that “I consider it highly unlikely that our advisers will recommend us to turn down the offer.”

Fosun and its partners will be required to immediately put down a third of the total bid to acquire a 99 year lease on the site, with the rest of the investment to be made over the next decade.

As a condition of the international bailouts that have kept Greece afloat since May 2010, the country needs to raise 3.6 billion euros ($4.95 billion) from asset sales this year, which is providing opportunities for cash-rich Chinese investors such as Fosun.

Fosun Already Familiar with Greek Assets

The acquisition of the former airport site would be the second major Greek investment by Fosun, which is already the second-biggest shareholder of Greek fashion retailer Folli Follie.

The company, which is directed by Chinese billionaire Guo Guangchang, has been among China’s most active and diversified international investors and has made deals in the US, Portugal and France during the last 12 months.

Earlier this year the Shanghai-based company acquired Portuguese insurance firm Caixa Seguros e Saude for 1 billion euros ($1.36 billion), and it made international headlines in October last year by purchasing One Chase Manhattan Plaza in New York for $725 million.

Earlier in 2013, Fosun, together with French insurer AXA acquired France’s Club Med resorts for a reported $700 million.