Ethniki Insurance unit sale halted

National Bank of Greece SA has halted the sale of its insurance unit – Ethniki Insurance –  after the coronavirus pandemic has thwarted expectations of a successful auction, according to a Financial Times report.

Bids for the unit came in lower than expected, prompting the Greek lender to put the divestment on hold, sources said. National Bank could restart a sale once the situation stabilised, they disclosed.

Ethniki Insurance had attracted bids from suitors including buyout firm CVC Capital Partners, while Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. and private equity firm Varde Partners dropped out of the process. Offers came in substantially lower than the target of as much as EUR600 million, they said.