Greek shipowners and entrepreneurs Dimitris Bakos and John Kaimenakis have stepped up their game in the banking sector with a merger deal with Greece’s fifth-largest lender. Thrivest Holding, owned by the duo together with Alexandros Exarchou, has finalised a deal to combine Pancreta Bank and its larger peer, Attica Bank. The agreement, which is part of a larger re-privatisation of Greek banks rescued during the financial crisis, will include a €735m ($800m) boost to cover Attica’s capital needs and reduce its non-performing loan exposure. Thrivest will contribute €200m of that amount, with the state-controlled bailout fund, the Hellenic Financial Stability Fund (HFSF) and currently the controlling shareholder of Attica adding about €475m. Pancreta Bank and its main shareholder, Thrivest, jointly owned 10% of Attica prior to the merger. At the closure, Thrivest is expected to have a controlling stake in the combined bank of between 50% and 58.5%, with HFSF holding about 35%. Bakos and Kaimenakis, alongside their business partner Exarchou, laid the foundation for the takeover in May last year by picking up a minority stake in Attica Bank, which has assets worth about €4bn. In addition to their shipowning vehicle Altomare, the duo has, among other things, also been active in the Greek construction business. Pancreta established its shipping department last year, focusing on small and medium-sized companies. googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1_95_0_1_2'); }); TagsGreece