Panos Germanos sniffs Wind?

Greek newspaper Ekathimerini quotes unnamed sources as saying that businessman Panos Germanos is eyeing the possibility of buying an ownership stake in one of Greece’s telecoms operators, with a likely target rumoured to be the country’s third largest cellco Wind Hellas. Following the end of a five-year agreement not to enter the domestic telecoms market – a clause in the sale of mobile handset retail chain Germanos SA to Cosmote in April 2006 – negotiations between Mr Germanos and Wind Hellas are rumored to have started in recent months, with Wind’s investment fund owners led by Anchorage Capital said to be open to offers after failing to achieve a merger with Vodafone Greece last year. Germanos has gained a recent track record in the mobile network operating sector via a majority participation (through Tollerton Investments Ltd) in Polish cellco Play.