Italian ferry conglomerate Grimaldi Group’s plan to take over Hellenic Seaways (HSW), Greece’s largest ferry operator, has been thwarted by Attica Group’s purchase of a controlling interest in the company. 

With its hopes of domination dashed, the question now is whether Grimaldi will retain its large stake.

The surprise announcement by Greek ferry company Attica that it had reached an agreement in principle with Piraeus Bank and other minority shareholders for the HSW takeover deal came last Friday.