Worldview Capital Management wants bigger stake in Hellenic Bank

Worldview Capital Management, is reportedly, ready to buy a bigger stake in Hellenic Bank from billionaire Dan Loeb’s Third Point.

The firm, which holds less than 5% of Hellenic Bank, wants to buy Third Point’s 26% stake, according to Worldview founder and partner Angelo Moskov.

Apparently, Loeb’s hedge fund wants to sell its shares to Atlas Merchant Capital LLC, JC Flowers & Co. and Pacific Investment Management Co.

“We have been a long-term investor in Cyprus, and we are interested to purchase their stake after hearing in the market it’s for sale,” Moskov told Bloomberg.

“I am sure we can contribute more than those new investors in the development of the bank.”

Investors are circling Hellenic Bank, the third-biggest Cypriot lender, as it attempts to buy the good part of the second-biggest, Cyprus Cooperative Bank, in a deal with implications for the island’s financial system.

Failure of the sale could spark another banking crisis in system shackled by bad loans.

“Ultimately of course the stake may go to the highest bidder, we realise this,” Moskov said. “But we would like to have a chance to participate.”

Worldview has written to Cypriot regulators asking them to immediately suspend the proposed Co-op deal in order to consider “serious corporate governance issues” and protect minority shareholders’ rights.