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The financial fund Emma Delta LTD has bought 33% of the Greek state lottery OPAP for 652 million euro. A month ago, the company had submitted an offer for 622 million euro, which was not approved.

One-third of the value of OPAP is estimated at almost 700 million euro. The Board of the company, together with the Privatisation Agency, examined the original proposal of the investment fund, and refused to accept the lower amount. Later, Emma Delta added another 30 million euro to its initial offer, which the fund will pay in instalments, and won the auction.

In support of the sale, the Privatisation Agency announced that the price obtained was 18.6 times higher than the profits expected for 2013. In addition, during the next 10 years, OPAP’s revenues as an entirely state-owned company would not exceed 360 million euro, which is 50% less than the price obtained for 33% of the company’s share now.

The sale of part of OPAP has a strategic importance for the government. This is the first real privatisation deal of the programme on which the entire election platform of Antonis Samaras was based. The sale of part of OPAP has a strategic importance for the government. This is the first real privatisation deal of the programme on which the entire election platform of Antonis Samaras was based.

A year ago, New Democracy promised to use privatisation as a means for promoting economic growth, but after taking power the party failed to do much in order to keep this promise. The programme itself was adopted three years ago, but no government so far has managed to actually start the process. The sale of part of OPAP should demonstrate to foreign investors that Greece is ready to implement privatisation processes in the country.

"The first major privatisation deal in the country was successful," said Finance Minister Yiannis Stournaras proudly. According to him, the deal will bring Greece a lot of benefits, since it will not only increase the confidence in the local economy, but will also increase revenues to the state treasury from taxes coming from the specific enterprise by 30%. "The government will continue to implement the privatisation programme in order to ensure the fastest possible way for the country to emerge from the current crisis under the best possible conditions."

SYRIZA, which is the ideological and political opponent of the current coalition government, reckons that privatisation is a scandalous bargain-sale to the detriment of Greek citizens. The party does not just disagree with the privatisation process, but thinks that state-controlled enterprises are the only tools that can support the recovery of the local economy.

"Greek people are the owners of OPAP and this fact should not change; the company’s profits should be intended for pension funds in the country that have already been destroyed by the policy of fiscal consolidation," reads SYRIZA’s statement.

Emma Delta LTD

The investment fund Emma Delta LTD, which has acquired 33% of OPAP, is 66.7% owned by Czech Jiri Smejc and 33.3% by Greek millionaire George Melisanidis. Smejc is 42 years old and he graduated from the 

Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University in Prague. Later, he specialised in mathematical economics, which prepared him for entry into the financial community. According to the description on the website of Piraeus Bank, in 1992, he became executive director of the fund PUFF Consulting s.r.o. Two years later, he went into the Sales Department of Middle Europe Finance, where he specialised in the purchase of assets.

By 2004, Jiri Smejc had acquired 34% of the TV Nova Group in the Czech Republic and joined the PPF Group NV. In 2008, he became a board member of the PPF, which applied for the purchase of the Greek gas company DEPA last year.

The other shareholder of Emma Delta is George Melisanidis, son of shipping magnate and fuel trader Dimitris Melisanidis. Melisanidis’s father owns the oil company AEGEAN OIL and is included in the Lloyd's List among the 100 most influential people in the shipping business worldwide.

His son George Melisanidis manages one of his father’s holding’s subsidiaries - Aegean Shipping. The company has five medium-sized tankers and now Melisanidis Jr. has ordered the construction of six tankers (eco-type) in the Daesun shipyard. They will have a capacity of 52,000 dwt and must be delivered in early 2014. The total value of the contract exceeds 200 million dollars.

The relationship between the shipping business and the national lottery in Greece is not as distant as it may seem at first glance. Dimitris Melisanidis has been chairman of the football club AEK for a long time and has remained an ardent supporter of the club. At the end of April this year, AEK was relegated from the National Football League and, after a series of financial failures during his presidency, it joined the country’s second tier. Furthermore, AEK is still one of the legendary Greek football teams that do not have an official field and its players have to hire various facilities in order to carry out training.

According to Imerisia newspaper, Melisanidis wants to use his newly acquired influence in OPAP in order to activate the financing of a stadium for his favourite team. In addition, he will try to attract the Czech partner who is said to have reserves for side investments.

"For you, the 20 million euro that are needed for the project for a new stadium, are nothing," Melisanidis told Smejc, quoted by Imerisia.