In response to your letter dated February 6th 2006, regarding the article published in the newspaper "The Investor's World", according to which GERMANOS S.A. is alleged to be planning an announcement in the forthcoming days for the sale of its participation in HDFS, the management states that:

Our Company at times has received various proposals of interest for the sale of its aforementioned participation. Such proposals are each examined thoroughly in order to ascertain their integrity and reliability, in the context of maximizing the interest of its shareholders. Given the attractiveness that characterizes the company HDFS as regards to its financial position, and in addition to the numerous business agreements realized at the international level in the broader sector it operates in, there is an acute journalistic interest and as a result conclusions are expressed in the press, which bring our company to the epicenter of the journalistic coverage. Faithful to the framework of regulations ruling the prompt and equal informing of the investment community, our company commits to promptly provide - if necessary - complete information through the relevant legal procedures.