Grimaldi to take over Heraklion port 

Italy’s Grimaldi Group is bolstering its footprint in Greece. The company, which owns Minoan Lines, has been selected as preferred bidder for Crete’s top port, tabling €80m ($86.4m) for a 67% stake in the Heraklion Port Authority in the latest phase of Greece’s port privatisation process. 

Last year Grimaldi was selected in a €84.7m deal last year to buy a 67% stake in Igoumenitsa Port Authority in northwestern Greece.

Since 2016, when China’s COSCO bought a controlling stake in Piraeus port, Greece has been putting successive port holdings up for sale.