Greece concludes long-awaited ex-airport lease

Greece on Monday said it had leased a former Athens airport in a deal worth 915 million euros ($1.3 billion) -- a key goal in the cash-strapped nation's efforts to offload state-owned assets. The government's privatisation agency said it had accepted an offer from Greek-led consortium Lamda Development to take full control of the former airport site of Hellinikon near the capital. The length of the lease has yet to be confirmed. Hellinikon, turned into a sports complex for the 2004 Athens Olympics, is considered one of the most attractive properties in the government's portfolio. Situated eight kilometres (five miles) south of Athens, Hellinikon and an adjoining 337-berth marina span nearly 620 hectares (1,530 acres) and include a waterfront of about 3.5 kilometres. The entire site is three times bigger than Monaco, and more than twice the size of Hyde Park in London. It has been on sale since December 2011, and Lamda, which made its final offer on March 26, was the only remaining bidder in the process. "The board of directors...unanimously declared Lamda Development SA as the preferred investor for the acquisition of 100 percent of the shares of Hellinikon SA, during its session today," the agency said. Greece had originally pledged to raise 50 billion euros by selling or leasing state assets by 2015, a commitment made to the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in return for bailout funds. This was later scaled down to 19 billion, and subsequently to 9.5 billion euros by 2016.