Two major investment funds, CarVal Investors and Caius Capital LLP, have significantly reduced their holdings in the Bank of Cyprus in recent months, marking a controlled divestment process.
Caius Capital LLP first became a major shareholder in the Bank of Cyprus in the summer of 2019, increasing its stake to 9.58 per cent by the end of 2020.
Since 2021, however, the firm has gradually reduced its shareholding. By January 2025, its stake had declined to 4.98 per cent after multiple sales, including transactions in September 2021, April 2022, June and October 2023, and most recently in January 2025.
CarVal Investors entered the Bank of Cyprus shareholder base in January 2021 and expanded its stake until 2023, when it reached 9.07 per cent.
However, in October 2024, the fund reduced its position by 3 per cent and continued selling shares in January 2025.
In the first two months of 2025 alone, CarVal Investors and Caius Capital LLP offloaded a combined total of 6.2 million Bank of Cyprus shares, becoming the primary sellers on both the Athens and Cyprus stock exchanges.
Between January 2 and March 5, 2025, CarVal Investors sold 4,996,000 shares. As of December 31, 2024, the fund held 26,955,322 shares, equivalent to a 6.12 per cent stake in the bank.
However, following its latest sale, this was reduced to 21,959,322 shares, or 4.99 per cent, as disclosed in a significant shareholding notification on March 5, 2025.
CarVal Investors had also made substantial sales in 2024. In October, it offloaded 13.5 million shares through an accelerated book-building process, reducing its stake from 9.07 per cent at the end of 2023 to a lower level.
Meanwhile, Caius Capital LLP also conducted significant transactions. Between January 2 and January 28, 2025, the fund sold 1,203,000 shares, reducing its holding from 23,156,267 shares (5.26 per cent) as of December 31, 2024 to 21,953,267 shares (4.98 per cent).
Moreover, Caius Capital had already shed 1,728,000 shares in 2024, reducing its stake from 5.58 per cent at the end of 2023 to 5.26 per cent by December 31, 2024.
The divestments by CarVal and Caius accounted for nearly half of the total Bank of Cyprus share transactions in early 2025.
Between January 2 and March 5, a total of 15,228,035 shares were traded on the Athens and Cyprus stock exchanges, with 6.2 million coming from these two funds.
Attention now turns to identifying the buyers of these shares. Despite the sizeable sell-off, the sales were absorbed without negatively impacting the bank’s stock price, indicating a well-managed divestment process.
Market observers are also closely monitoring the bank’s share buyback programme, which is currently underway.
The €30 million programme aims to repurchase and cancel shares, potentially influencing future market movements.
Speculation around potential new investors continues, with some analysts suggesting that existing shareholders may have increased their positions.
Meanwhile, on March 6, 2025, the National Bank of Greece publicly denied reports of a strategic agreement with the Bank of Cyprus, dismissing the claims as inaccurate.
