Shares up on Hellenic takeover rumour

By Hamza Hendawi

SHARES yesterday snapped a two-session slide to close 2.05 per cent up, thanks to continued interest in the Popular Bank’s imminent 1=2 split and persistent rumours that Hellenic Bank was the possible target of a takeover from Greece, traders said.

The official all-share index closed yesterday at 151.61 with all seven sub- indices ending the day higher except that of manufacturing, which was slightly down by 0.08 per cent. The index closed 1.07 down on Friday and the market was closed on Monday.

Popular Bank’s share split comes into effect on Monday June 7 and traders say the share will continue to appreciate until then. Yesterday, it was up 26.50 cents to end the day at £7.55 apiece. Trade in the share accounted for nearly 20 per cent of the day’s volume, while dealings in its 1993-99 warrants made up another 12.6 per cent. The warrants notched up 22.50 cents to close at £5.04.

Hellenic Bank, a share that discovered a faster lifestyle only recently after a long spell in the shadow of larger banks, was up yesterday 27 cents to close at £4.27 on the back of what traders said were rumours that the bank was the target of a takeover by Greece’s Alpha Credit Bank, Eurobank or the giant Latsis Group.

Last Wednesday, Hellenic’s executive chairman, Panos Ghalanos, strongly dismissed rumours that a Greek bank was poised to take a stake in the Cyprus-based group. “There is no possibility of that,” he told a news conference.

“I would like to have a word with the person that is spreading these rumours,” Ghalanos threatened during a meeting with brokers earlier last Wednesday.

The rumours, however, received a boost over the weekend with Athens media reports speaking of a Greek takeover of the bank.

“It is more than just a rumour now,” said one trader, who read the Greek newspaper articles.

The excitement over Popular and Hellenic banks, however, did not dampen interest in Bank of Cyprus shares, which ended a meagre 5 cents up to close at £6.77. Trade in the share made up 29.2 per cent of the day’s entire volume.

Bank of Cyprus shares are also heading for a 1=2 split later this year as part of the group’s restructuring plans.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.