COSCO the sole bidder for Piraeus Port stake

China COSCO Shipping Group Co, the country's newly combined and largest shipping company by capacity, has offered 700 million euros ($762 million) and become the sole bidder for a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority SA, the largest port in Greece after waiting for nearly 18 months.

China COSCO Holdings Co, a subsidiary of COSCO Shipping, submitted a formal tender offer to the Greek government earlier this week. COSCO Shipping was one of five industry players, including the Dutch and the US container terminal operators APM Terminals and Ports America Inc, to show an interest in a 67 percent stake in Piraeus Port in June 2014, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Under the proposed deal, COSCO Shipping will invest another 350 million euros once the deal is sealed within five years to improve and upgrade infrastructure facilities in Piraeus Port.