BC Partners – CVC Capital Partners: In which sectors do the two large funds see investments in Greece

By Giorgos Lampiris

In recent years, the two large investment arms that are also active in Greece have made investments exceeding 6 billion euros in our country. BC Partners has started its activity cycle within Greek borders fifteen years ago, having invested 5 billion euros during this time, with partner and leader Nikos Stathopoulos. Accordingly, CVC Capital Partners, represented in Greece by Alex Fotakidis, began its investment cycle in 2016, investing 300 million euros in the health sector in the period 2016-2019 with the acquisition initially of Metropolitan and then of of the Hygeia group and, by extension, establishing the Hellenic Healthcare group, while from 2019 onwards it invested an additional 1.2 billion euros.

Opportunities in energy

The next steps for both are the further development of their investment portfolio in our country, with Nikos Stathopoulos announcing the interest that exists especially in the energy sector, mentioning a few days ago from the stage of the Economist conference that the finding opportunities will soon become a more difficult task, however he noted that there will be opportunities in different sectors. He stood in the energy sector, which, he said, is a good example, where by definition one can find enough opportunities to invest.

Nikos Stathopoulos did not fail to mention, however, that BC Partners will show greater caution regarding its positions in the current period, noting, however, that the fund seeks to position itself in sectors that have appeared more defensive recently, even if they record less growth than in the past. According to him, the field of geopolitical instability, despite the fact that until now it did not concern investors, is now one of the main parameters that they consider, given the war conflict in Ukraine and the effects it has.

At the moment, BC Partners is present in 124 investments in 18 countries of the world, with a total enterprise value of more than 161 billion euros in its portfolio. The most recent investment in Greece was in the Greek pet chain Pet City, with the aim of expanding abroad, an agreement that was completed last November. At the exit level, last July BC Partners sold 100% of its participation in Pharmathen to Partners Group, for a price of 1.6 billion euros.

CVC is looking forward to increasing its stake in PPC

The energy sector does not escape CVC Capital’s investment strategy either, given that, according to information, the fund is considering expanding the 10% stake it currently holds in PPC. Another area of ​​investment interest is tourism, while Mr. Fotakidis also expressed from the Economist’s platform his admiration for Greek shipping and the displacement it has, despite the fact that Greece is a country with a small population.

In the near future, CVC intends to invest around 1.5 billion euros in Greece, without the possibility of exceeding this “threshold”, according to sources close to the fund, with whom we had the opportunity to communicate. The specific investment plan is designed for the next five years based on current data. For this year, the aim is to carry out up to 5 placements in the Greek market. Existing activities are not excluded from the interest of the fund, where there is a prospect of increasing participation in cases where it already maintains participation or the acquisition of new related assets.

Food is high on the investment agenda – The possibility of entering the Athens Stock Exchange is on the table

CVC Capital Partners also examines and invests in the companies of the Vivartia group it has acquired, which are now divided into three individual business groups: frozen products (Barba Stathis, Golden Dough, Hellenic Dough), dairy (Delta) and catering (Goody’s, Everest). According to sources close to CVC Capital, investments have already been made in Delta, with a €6m spend on herbal products completed in 2020, which demonstrates the importance the fund attaches to this particular portfolio of holdings. This particular investment resulted in the transfer of the production of the almond drink from Italy, where it was previously done, to the Sindos facilities.

Let us remind you that in November 2021 the Vivartia group had carried out its operational restructuring with the establishment of the individual groups by activity sector, namely Frozen Holdings, Food Services Holdings and Dairy Holdings.

CVC also plans, based on the original agreement, to acquire 100% of Dodoni’s shares from SI Foods – it currently owns 70% – in the near future.

Tourism offsets the recession – “Year-challenge in 2023”

Alex Fotakidis, during his presentation at the Economist conference, also referred to the decisive impact coming from tourism for 2022, with the performance in this sector able to cover losses from other sectors and offset the recession. He estimated, in fact, that growth for this year will rise to the levels of 3%-4% in Greece and that 2023 will be a challenging year, as it will take some quarters for the economy to stabilize.