Middle Eastern-backed AGC Equity Partners has emerged as the buyer of the Astir Palace resort in Vouliagmenis, a seaside town located 20 km south of Athens.
Middle Eastern-backed AGC Equity Partners has emerged as the buyer of the Astir Palace resort in Vouliagmenis, a seaside town located 20 km south of Athens.
The London-based company was chosen by Greece's state privatisation fund, the Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund, ahead of four other bidders for the asset. They included a consortium of US private equity group Colony Capital and Dolphin Capital Investors, as well as Lamda Erga Anaptyxis, a unit of developer Lamba Development.
AGC Equity Partners is making the investment through its Jermyn Street Real Estate Fund IV, an investment entity ultimately controlled by members of the Constantakopoulos and Olayan families.
State-owned National Bank of Greece controls around 85% of Astir Palace Hotel SA, the public company that owns the resort. Although financial details were not disclosed, the asset is believed to have a market value of €165 mln.
Famous for its celebrity guests, Astir Palace opened in 1960 and covers an area of over 100,000 m2.
The sale of the landmark asset is part of Greece's privatisation programme aimed at paying back its international bailout creditors.
Last year AGC carried out one of the largest real estate transactions in the UK when it acquired Citi Tower in London's Canary Wharf district for some €1.2 bn.
