New | Fosun and Anbang still in the race for Portuguese lender
Fosun International and privately owned Anbang Insurance Group are believed to be still in the running for Novo Banco, the successor to Portuguese lender Banco Espirito Santo after a state rescue last year.
The Bank of Portugal had selected five of the seven financial institutions that had made non-binding bids for Novo Banco, and will accept binding offers until the end of June.
The central bank said that in this third phase of the sale the chosen five would get access to more detailed information about Novo Banco and would be able to do "due diligence" checks on its worth. It did not name the institutions.
In a research note last month, BBVA analysts estimated Novo Banco could fetch between €4.3 billion (HK$36 billion) and €4.8 billion.
Sources and the media have said Santander, Fosun, Anbang and US investment fund Apollo Global Management were still in the race, while Portugal's Banco BPI and Bank of China were most likely out.
Another contender cited is New York-based investment firm Cerberus Capital Management. Only Santander and BPI have publicly confirmed their bids.
Portuguese authorities hope to sell Novo Banco by the summer to recover funds injected in August last year in a €4.9 billion rescue operation, when the country's second-largest lender crumbled under the debts of its founding Espirito Santo family.
Fosun made two acquisitions in Portugal last year, including health-care provider Espirito Santo Saude, after the Espirito Santo empire went bankrupt.
Although most of the BES rescue package came from public funds, the capital came through a so-called bank resolution fund, the joint responsibility of Portugal's banks, meaning any losses on the sale would be incurred by banks.
Novo Banco had assets of more than €72 billion at the end of last year. The toxic exposure to the Espirito Santos' debt was left with the "bad bank" BES.
