Two bankers told Reuters that the National Bank of Greece or NBG is nearing an agreement with private equity company Invel Real Estate for the sale of Pangaia, the bank's real estate business. NBG is the largest lender in Greece. NBG's sale of Pangaia is part of its efforts to restructure the bank geared towards shoring up capital. The top four banks in Greece are in the process of putting restructuring plans in place as part of their agreement with the European Commission for the bailouts they received. These include reducing their workforces, closing down some branches and selling assets.

One of the sources told Reuters, "The agreement will close in the next 10 days. Invel will acquire about 66 percent of Pangaia for more than 600 million euros ($808 million)." The bankers added that the private equity firm will be paying for a portion of the acquisition in cash. The rest will be paid through a loan from the National Bank as well as by contributing equity in the form of real estate.

Based in the Netherlands, Invel was established in March this year to capitalize on the opportunities of the real estate market in Europe. It gave investors the ability to co-invest in transactions. The bankers said that BSG Real Estate will be one of the co-investors in the deal to buy Pangaia. Beny Steinmetz, a businessman from Israel, has a controlling stake in BSG Real Estate.

According to one source, "NBG will retain management control at Pangaia for five years. The loan by NBG for part of the majority stake will be at a spread of 275 basis points, secured by real estate contributed by Invel."

Office buildings, NBG-operated branches as well as other property recently bought from the privatization agency of Greece form part of the portfolio of Pangaia