Hello there. From today the weather is turning bad again for good, we hear from the meteorologists. Let’s hope—and it seems so—that we will simply gain even more water in Attica’s reservoirs without extreme situations or unpleasant events. You see, Mitsotakis… is lucky even with water, since if this winter it hadn’t been raining nonstop, as the saying goes, in recent days, the problem of water scarcity would have blown up in his face in a few months’ time—right on top of the elections. Now, what else K.M. is lucky in… well, it doesn’t take much thought or imagination to figure it out, since opposite him, from 2019 onward, everything and everyone who has emerged has spontaneously combusted. First it was Tsipras, then came Androulakis, and then we fell into… even harder stuff, as they say on the street—Kasselakis, and now President Maria with her high-spirited team. What can you say, and where do you even begin with this whole circus? But you know, the saying “no bad without some good” applies: in any case we have stability in governance. But there’s also the flip side… “no good without some bad.” Because it’s bad for a government to feel alone and thus be prone to mistakes and blunders, and also because when elections come the day after tomorrow, there won’t be a second party to contribute even minimally and properly to the governance of this poor country. Because let’s agree—both us and all the polls—that New Democracy is by far first and most likely will be again in the elections whenever they’re held, but the 37%–38% needed, I don’t see it.

Coalitions and PASOK heading for the Conference…

• What do the pollsters say it looks like? Well, today—even though it’s still very early and despite Karystianou’s self-destructive statements on abortions—President Maria is second. Tsipras, despite the internal backstabbing of the Left, which habitually becomes a public spectacle—or rather, an operetta—remains third. And following him is Nikos of PASOK, who, as one of the credible pollsters told me, “is heading straight for the Conference.” And this, of course, is the biggest problem—not because Venice will lose a needle, but because, as a good source of mine from the Maximos Mansion tells me, “we will fight for self-reliance, but if after two four-year terms people want a coalition government, the situation and the image of PASOK make things very difficult.” Finding the conversation very interesting, I pressed again and came away with the following impression, which I pass on to you. K.M., by nature, could not politically come to terms with any extreme party like Velopoulos, for example. As for Latinopoulou, the prevailing impression is that either she won’t get 3% to enter the equation, or that even her 10–12 MPs wouldn’t be enough in the case of a broader coalition government. With a normal PASOK, talks could be held in the sense that if citizens don’t want a single-party government, there is no other option. I should note, however, that researchers find in focus groups that the abortion issue, as handled by President M., disappointed her left-wing voters but thrilled the “Christians,” since they respond, “finally, one of our own who calls things by their name.” And you know—such views are scattered across the right.

The green suitors?

• Now, if you ask me what’s going on inside PASOK, I hear a lot—and that’s only natural since the needle has come loose but downward—but they tell me to keep a small basket. A die-hard, gossip-loving PASOK friend told me that our president Nikos will also present a “survey” in the coming days showing that internally he (Androulakis) is holding up well, so what other pollsters say—that PASOK would be on fire with Pavlos or another leader—are slanders. Perfect, right? So Pavlos says various things but doesn’t budge, Haris makes a pass at N.A. but focuses on his job at the municipality (because he actually has an object), and Anna has some wild ideas about taking revenge on Trump by canceling the Vertical Corridor! As you understand, with our president Nikos we’ll go to the polls—he’s the one we want, he’s the one we trust.

The donation to the state for the FIR – A bit of a disgrace, eh?

• Seven years after Contract 03/2019, the new modern Voice Communication and Recording System (VCRS) for the Athens FIR remains incomplete and inactive. The Civil Aviation Authority needs it—the January blackout proved it—but the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Court of Audit failed to unblock it. In the end, the solution came via the familiar method of private “donations.” Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos, Fraport Greece, AEGEAN, SKY Express, and GEK TERNA responded yesterday to Christos Dimas’s invitation and will pay €4.7 million via a donation. The system is already in the CAA’s warehouses, but it cannot be installed without the approval of the Court of Audit. The contract was signed three months before the 2019 elections and activated three years later. The amendment file submitted to the Court of Audit (October 2025) was rejected. The ministry’s appeal (December 2025) was rejected on January 21 by the 7th Chamber. The old system recently collapsed—technologically obsolete and no longer supported by the manufacturer. A Special Committee found that digital noise caused the blackout; the hardware cannot be replaced. Dimas saw the dead end, called the companies, and the donation became feasible because in October 2025 the CAA was converted into a public-law legal entity, and in December a new institutional framework for donations to public-law entities was passed by the Ministry of Finance. The private companies paid in zero time, because the alternative scenario (another blackout in the middle of the tourist season) would have cost many times more. Not that we’ll go after the businessmen who paid—on the contrary, thank goodness. But honestly, how proud can those who “handled” the issue—ministers and government officials—be? Because here we’re not talking about a donation to a hospital, but about the core communication system of the country’s airports. And the judges, too… was the contract really that wrong for six years? If a plane falls on our heads, what will they say? Unfortunately, people see these things—and then when we get tangled up again, we’ll be wondering why…

What K.M. will say on SKAI

• Moving on to current affairs, let me tell you that K.M., apart from today’s Cabinet meeting—where a series of bills will be presented, chief among them Kostis Hatzidakis’s on small interventions that nonetheless significantly reduce bureaucracy and the madness of the state—is preparing to give an interview that will be wide-ranging, yes, but primarily oriented toward geopolitics. He will speak with Alexis Papachelas, and it will air on Thursday on SKAI, immediately after the channel’s main news bulletin. Now, I don’t think he’ll refer only to international issues, but I think he’ll connect what’s happening abroad with the prospect of instability at home, with an eye also on the Constitutional Revision that will begin sometime in the coming days.

Announcements regarding Turkey

• Let me tell you that only some procedural matters remain before the meeting between Mitsotakis and Erdogan in Ankara is “locked in” for February. The most likely week is February 8 to 13, although during that time K.M. also has trips to Brussels and Munich. In any case, announcements will likely be made this week.

Appointments at the cake cuttings

• MPs know that these January days are usually hellish because of the many cake-cutting events, making them stretch themselves thin to make it on time. And in New Democracy these days it will be… all about the cake. For example, today Vice President Hatzidakis is cutting his at the OAKA VIP Lounge, while on Wednesday it’s the turn of spokesperson Marinakis, who is also inaugurating his new offices in Psychiko, with the presence of Metropolitan Gabriel of Nea Ionia.

Xenokostas’s deal at the Elefsina Shipyards for trains

• We now move to the market, where—with Korean know-how—Panagiotis Xenokostas’s ONEX is entering the rolling stock repair and maintenance market, in a development expected to be announced today at the Elefsina Shipyards and directly concerning the Greek railway. ONEX is proceeding with an agreement with Korea’s Sung Shin Rolling Stock Technology Ltd., through ONEX RSIS (Rolling Stock & Integrated Systems), opening activity in a sector that, since 2019, has been monopolistically controlled by Italy’s Hellenic Train following the acquisition of the state-owned EESTY for €22 million. At the ceremony, the creation of the National Rolling Stock Support Center will be announced at ONEX’s industrial hub in Elefsina, and the agreement between ONEX RSIS and the Koreans—who have been doing this work since the early 1990s—will be signed. The prime minister will be represented by Deputy Minister of Transport Konstantinos Kyranakis, while the ceremony will be attended by the U.S. Ambassador Kimberly Guilfoyle and the South Korean Ambassador, as well as the Korean company’s CEO. The charter of the new activity provides for a wide range of works beyond narrow maintenance: technical advisory and project support services, mechanical engineering studies, engineering services for energy projects, design and development of information technologies, as well as reconstruction and equipment works for machinery and rolling stock in railways and tramways. The move is part of a broader plan to reposition Elefsina as an industrial hub and, at the same time, opens competition in rolling stock maintenance—a sector that has long been the subject of many complaints in the freight transport market.

National Bank: Lips tightly sealed

• Barring the unexpected, we are getting quite close to the time of the National Bank’s announcements regarding bancassurance. At National, lips are sealed tight, but if I’m reading things correctly, the horizon has cleared and we’re heading toward a deal without major surprises, with the insurers—left orphaned by Piraeus Bank through its acquisition of Ethniki Asfalistiki—finding shelter once again at National. The latest information points to NN, but the stake National will acquire will be small, and at least not at the levels that had been circulating in the market, while the other insurer that will cooperate with National will most likely be Ergo, as Allianz is said to have had specific demands. All this, of course, provided there is no last-minute plot twist.

Golden dividends from concessions for GEK TERNA

• The strong concessions portfolio built by GEK TERNA, with the addition of Egnatia Odos and, in the medium term, the Kastelli airport, has acted as a catalyst for a significant boost to the Group’s valuation. Santander calculated that the dividends GEK TERNA will receive from the road axes it manages will amount to €280–300 million annually through 2035, and that the portfolio’s value will approach €2.9 billion by 2032. As for Kastelli, Santander estimates that it will turbocharge the concessions portfolio’s figures, since once it begins operating it will not require significant maintenance expenditure, unlike motorways. In any case, GEK TERNA’s share staged a 20.6% rally in just eight sessions, and the Group’s valuation rose to €3.3 billion. This strong rise gave some portfolios the opportunity to lock in part of their gains, with the well-known Marble Bar fund reducing its stake to 4.9% from 6.4% previously. Supply, however, was absorbed almost immediately, as shown by the increased trading volumes on Friday—an indication of appetite to build positions in the stock, regardless of whether GEK TERNA ultimately joins the MSCI Greece index.

Sweeping rebranding by Allwyn

• With Allwyn continuing to buy OPAP shares from the Athens Exchange and the February 9 deadline approaching, the market’s assessment is growing that the percentage of those exercising the exit right will settle at lower levels. Regardless of the final percentage, however, the merger procedures are moving fast, as the 5% threshold has also been lifted; thus, the OPAP–Allwyn merger is proceeding regardless of the number of shares for which the exit right is ultimately exercised. Moving even faster, though, is OPAP’s rebranding, as it adopts the international Allwyn brand. The first shops in Athens and Thessaloniki have already begun changing their look, while a few days ago the AEK stadium in Nea Filadelfeia also changed both image and name and is now called Allwyn Arena. The makeover of OPAP stores will be completed gradually by 2027, while for PLAY stores it will take place during 2026.

Everything changes at the Port of Heraklion – What the new Master Plan provides for

• The new Master Plan sets out a comprehensive development strategy aimed at creating a modern, sustainable, and functionally upgraded port, which will further strengthen Heraklion’s role as a key maritime and economic hub of Crete. The presentation was made by OLI CEO Minas Papadakis. Details were not made public, but we dug around and learned about major new investments. So, here’s what’s on the table: a modern cruise terminal with a state-of-the-art conference center; a 20-acre logistics warehouse to support Crete’s supply chain; conversion of the old building—known as the “Refrigerator,” located next to OLI’s administration building—into a hotel; floating piers capable of hosting a limited number of catamarans in front of the Port Authority; energy autonomy for the port through the installation of photovoltaic systems on the roofs of old and new buildings and in selected areas of the land zone; and installation of cold ironing to supply electricity to docked ships from shore. This week the plan will be submitted to the Ministry of Shipping to begin a series of prescribed actions and approvals that will take at least one year before the Presidential Decree is issued.

New… arrivals at Occupational Pension Funds

• Reliable information indicates that approval will soon be granted by the Bank of Greece to the National Bank for the establishment of an Occupational Pension Fund for its employees. At the same time, the large sectoral Occupational Pension Fund for hotel employees—potentially covering around 10,550 businesses and nearly 150,000 workers—is also in the licensing process with the Bank of Greece. The Hotel Employees’ OPF is provided for under the sectoral collective labor agreement of 2025, with contributions of 2% in favor of employees, borne entirely by employers. In addition, exploratory discussions are maturing within the HR departments of leading companies in the Greek economy, whose implementation plans for establishing employer-based—or mainly multi-employer—OPFs will make waves and inject strong growth momentum into Greece’s occupational pension ecosystem. Not only because of the volume of human resources these OPFs will cover, but also because of the value of the assets they will accumulate. A critical catalyst for this development is the activation of the Ministry of Labor with the swift completion and passage of the supplementary legislative framework for occupational insurance announced by Minister Niki Kerameus, which the labor market is awaiting to set in motion the next wave of dynamic growth initiatives.

Genco vs. Semiramis: The backstage before the battle

• The Wall Street battle between Diana, controlled by Semiramis Paliou, and Genco is entering a “proxy war” phase—that is, a fight to change Board members through shareholder votes—and no one is about to back down easily. Genco said no to $20.60 per share and is responding with a Pac-Man counteroffer, a tactic whereby the takeover target attempts to acquire the bidder in self-defense, while Diana proposes to oust Genco’s entire Board with its own nominees. Behind the scenes, bankers and lawyers are already laying the groundwork for months of attacks and counterattacks. Genco has the upper hand thanks to super-voting shares—i.e., shares that give insiders greater voting power—but it could make life difficult for Diana with a special dividend of $200–250 million. Diana is under pressure from its leverage, the debt ratio relative to the value of its vessels, and a merger of the two would result in an LTV of 68%—Loan-to-Value, meaning debt as a percentage of vessel value—before any ship sales even take place. As the previous episode with George Economou showed, shareholder battles are costly: G&A expenses (General & Administrative), bankers, lawyers, and four-month stretches of behind-the-scenes maneuvering. These battles won’t be decided in press releases but in the closed rooms of financial and legal advisers.

Share sale without pressure in an uncertain environment

• At a time when Nasdaq appears cautious toward smaller international listings, Ismini Panagiotidi made a targeted move with Icon Energy Corp. The company sold a total of 1,136,470 common shares at an average price of $3.11 per share, under the SEPA agreement signed in August 2025. The placement was executed at a price higher than the market’s volume-weighted average, without pressure for immediate capital raising. Net proceeds of $3.5 million are earmarked for general corporate purposes and strategic initiatives, giving the company flexibility in managing liquidity. This move shows that management is methodically using the financing tools at its disposal, maintaining control and adjusting both the timing and size of capital raising to market conditions. With 2,508,470 shares outstanding at the time of the announcement, Icon Energy manages to strike a balance between the need for capital and the stability of its shareholder base.

Stassis’ contacts

• Two photos posted on LinkedIn by PPC (DEI) CEO Giorgos Stassis from this year’s World Economic Forum may be revealing the future, on the very same day that Piraeus Securities revised its analysis of PPC, raising the target price to €23.80 (from €19.10), with an “Outperform” recommendation and upside potential of +22%. In the first photo, Stassis is participating in a closed panel of the “Coal to Clean” initiative, speaking about PPC’s radical shift away from lignite (which until a few years ago accounted for 35% of production) toward full (100%) lignite phase-out by the end of the year. In the second photo, he is seated next to Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, at a discussion organized by Euronews, together with the CEO of Turkey’s Sabancı Holding (Kıvanç Zaimler) and a Romanian MP (member of the Committee on Industry and Services and Secretary of the IT Committee of the Romanian Parliament, Mădălin Borș). The panel’s composition is the message: Southeastern Europe as a new energy hub, with PPC at its core. The IEA chief places the region at the center of Europe’s strategy for grids, storage, and electrification. PPC responds with €10 billion in investments over three years, focusing on renewables that will reach 12.7 GW, and €1.5 billion in energy storage systems (BESS). At the same time, Stassis is promoting (and seeking major tenants for) the mega data center in Western Macedonia, one of the largest in Europe. Piraeus Securities estimates EBITDA above €2.9 billion in 2028, up from €2 billion in 2025 (+45%), while the stock is up +51% year-on-year, outperforming the general index by 18%. Even after this rally, PPC trades at 6x expected 2026 EV/EBITDA, about 30% cheaper than its European peers.

The conflict among Progressive ATE shareholders continues

• A shareholders’ general meeting that was supposed to take place last November (2025) still hasn’t been held, as we are now approaching February 2026. The farcical disputes between representatives of the major shareholders (this time in the presence of two officials from the Hellenic Capital Market Commission, who recorded unbelievable scenes) led last Friday to yet another postponement… indefinitely. The central figure in the case is major shareholder Chrysa-Lemonia Koutla, who is now in open confrontation with the company’s Board of Directors. The image of the listed company is disastrous. First, it was confirmed by the attending shareholdings that alignment with Chrysa-Lemonia Koutla (sister of the late Konstantinos) now exceeds 33% of the company. Koutla wants to annul the 2022 agreement with LDA Capital, which was supposed to finance Progressive with €20 million. The funds never arrived, yet the Board wants to proceed with a capital increase to pay LDA’s fee. The Board—clearly no longer enjoying the confidence of the majority—pushed through another postponement via a request from a Cypriot shareholder company controlled by the Board itself, represented by the company’s legal advisor.

A three-and-a-half-hour discussion on… shareholders’ rights

• Tensions escalated during the pre-meeting of Progressive’s General Assembly when the Chairman of the Board (G. Kontolatis), after being elected temporary chairman of the meeting as required by law, refused to proceed with the validation of the shareholders’ register. The register had not even been posted and was distributed to shareholders an hour and a half after the meeting began. The temporary chairman refused to allow the election of a permanent chairman, claiming that no other person was allowed to assume the role. The law and established practice clearly provide that any person elected by the Assembly may serve as chairman. Tensions peaked with the attempt to exclude major shareholder Ch.-L. Koutla due to a discrepancy of 13,000 shares (0.3% of share capital) compared to those listed in her proxy. The Board argued that the proxy should be declared invalid and that the shareholder should be excluded from voting rights, despite the law being clear: shareholders attend and vote with the shares they hold on the record date. The Chairman refused to submit the matter to the Assembly, claiming that the Board alone was competent to decide on the exclusion of a shareholder. After three hours of deadlock and confrontations, it was proposed that the Board postpone the General Assembly and seek an advisory opinion from the Capital Market Commission on who is right regarding the pre-procedural issues. The postponement was accepted. It is worth noting that the court did not issue an interim injunction ahead of the General Assembly, which ultimately never took place. The hearing of the main application for interim measures is pending, adding another layer of uncertainty to an already complex situation.

The market is betting on Aegean’s results

• Strong buying interest has been observed in Aegean recently, peaking with Friday’s +3.25% gain, when turnover exceeded €4.2 million, corresponding to roughly 300,000 shares. The stock has recorded three consecutive rising sessions, with cumulative gains of about 5.5%. Aegean shares traded above €14.60, narrowing the distance from the all-time highs of €15. The company’s market capitalization now exceeds €1.3 billion. The market is betting that the airline will announce outstanding results for 2025, given the record levels achieved last year in tourism and air traffic. In addition, the company is among those that distribute generous dividends, a factor that carries significant weight for many investors.

IDEAL Holdings: New acquisitions only if valuations are reasonable

• IDEAL Holdings announced a return of capital to shareholders on February 4. Management’s commitment that funds not productively invested will be returned to shareholders did not remain mere rhetoric in presentations and press releases. At a time when many companies accumulate cash without a clear strategy—while promises of “value creation” often remain on hold awaiting the “right opportunity” that never comes—IDEAL has chosen a different path. This is the second capital return within eight months, at €0.15 per share, following the €0.30 per share paid in July 2025. Share capital is reduced by €8.4 million, lowering nominal value from €1.70 to €1.55. Lambros Papakonstantinou thus confirms that 2025 was a “good year,” making it clear that new acquisitions will only take place if valuations are reasonable. With total returns of €25.2 million (€0.45 per share) within eight months, IDEAL is building a track record of shareholder value creation. The P/E ratio remains low, and the stock trades at a discount to its intrinsic value.

Two new protagonists at the Athens Exchange

• Two new protagonists have emerged at the Athens Exchange, reaching milestone price levels after impressive rallies. EKTER broke through the €4 barrier for the first time in 26 years, specifically since June 2000. The construction company’s stock rose 3.83% on Friday and has posted cumulative gains of 8.5% over three days. Lavipharm, in the latest session, recorded a 5.7% surge, pushing it above the psychological €1 level for the first time since August 2022.

Changing of the guard at Euroclinic

• Last summer, insurance group Generali acquired Euroclinic from Akkadia Holdings, the fund in which Nikos Plakopitas, son of Global Finance founder, participated. Last December, Generali announced that the successful duo of Nikos Plakopitas (CEO) and Antonis Vouklaris (Deputy CEO) would continue to lead Euroclinic. A few days ago, however, Nikos Plakopitas announced that he is completing his cycle at Euroclinic after an 18-year journey. His departure, along with that of Antonis Vouklaris from the management of Euroclinic, marks the end of an era and at the same time the completion of a highly successful deal that began in 2020. Plakopitas, who had served as Vice Chairman of the Board since 2020, led the management buyout that year and participated as a shareholder in the investment team that took over the clinic from the South East Europe Fund. His path at Euroclinic began in 2008, during a period of serious difficulties for the clinic. Now, Generali’s CEO Panos Dimitriou is called upon to replace an experienced and effective management team, at a time when health insurance premiums are the biggest headache for the sector.