The Hellenic Republic Asset Development Fund (HRADF) has selected the Fraport AG - Slentel Ltd consortium as the preferred bidder for the concession to use, operate, manage and exploit 14 Regional Airports in Greece.

The contract period will be 40 years. The concession is divided into two clusters:

• Cluster A includes the airports of Thessaloniki, Corfu, Chania, Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Aktion, Kavala and
• Cluster B includes the airports of Rhodes, Kos, Samos, Mitilini, Mykonos, Santorini,Skiathos.

With an offer consisting of an upfront payment of €1.234 billion (US$1.54 billion) and an annual payment of €22.9 million for the life of the concession the Fraport AG - Slentel Ltd consortium beat out competition from two other consortia, Corporacion America S.A. (CASA) - Metka S.A. and Vinci Airports S.A.S. - Αktor Concessions S.A., which offered between €800 million and €900 million for the concession, according to sources.

Specifically, the preferred bidder offered for Cluster A an upfront payment of €609 million (U$760 million) and an annual payment for the life of the concession of €11.3 million annually adjusted according to CPI and €625 million (US$780 million) and €11.6 million for Cluster B respectively.

Investments expected to be implemented over a period of four years amount to approximately to €330 million while investments for the duration of the concession will amount approximately to €1.4 billion. These investment amounts are over and above the upfront and the annual fees offered by the preferred bidder.

HRADF Chairman, Emmanuel Kondylis stated:

"The participation in the tender and the bids submitted by leading international companies in the field of construction and airport management are the greatest proof of the confidence shown by international investors in the prospects of our country".

HRADF CEO, Paschalis Bouchoris, also stated:

"The concession awarded will substantially enhance the infrastructure quality and level of passenger service, through a better maintenance, operation and development of the airports. This privatization not only upgrades the airports but facilitates and promotes the tourism in our country."

Currently, all regional airports are state-owned without any corporate structure and supervised by the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority (HCAA). Following the privatisation, HCAA will retain its role as regulator of aeronautical services and provider of air-traffic control services.

The Hellenic Republic appointed Citigroup Global Markets Limited and Eurobank EFG Equities Investment Firm S.A. as financial advisors, Your Legal Partners and Drakopoulous & Vasalakis Law firm as legal advisors and Lufthansa consulting, Doksiadis Associates and Alanna Consulting Group, as technical advisors to assist with the privatisation.