American investor John Paulson has sold his entire 9.7% stake in EYDAP, the Athens-listed water utility serving the Greek capital, to the GEK TERNA Group in a stock market transaction worth €103.4 million.
The deal was executed at €10 per share, representing a premium of roughly 37% compared with EYDAP’s previous closing price of €7.31.
Paulson first invested in the company in May 2014, when he acquired a 9.99% stake for approximately €86 million. On the surface, the transaction appears to have generated a capital gain of about €17.4 million.
However, the broader investment outcome tells a different story. When measured against alternative market returns, Paulson’s investment in the Greek water utility proved costly. If the same €86 million had been invested in 2014 in a passive fund tracking the S&P 500, and held through 2026, it would have delivered returns of around 262%. In that case, the initial investment would have grown to roughly €311.3 million.
From that perspective, the EYDAP investment represents a significant opportunity loss for the prominent American hedge fund manager.
