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Novo Banco yesterday sold its investment bank Banco Espirito Santo de Investimento (BESI) to Haitong Securities for €379 million (HK$3.6 billion), the Portuguese bank said.
Novo Banco, which arose from the ashes of the Banco Espirito Santo (BES) in August, said the deal still needed approval by the Portuguese central bank, the European Commission and competition authorities.
Haitong said in an announcement on the stock exchange the acquisition would be partly financed by internal resources.
Shares of Haitong yesterday rose 16 per cent to HK$22.25 in a market that closed 0.19 per cent firmer.
The sale of BESI is the latest stage in the dismantling of the family-controlled Espirito Santo group in the wake of revelations in May of accounting irregularities in one of its holding companies.
Portugal launched Novo Banco as part of a €4.9 billion bailout of BES aimed at averting a national disaster and a fresh euro-zone crisis.
Novo Banco, which holds the healthy assets of BES, was itself put up for sale last week, with tenders closing at the end of the year.
The sale is aimed at raising funds to pay back €3.9 billion to the Portuguese government - the part of the bailout that was disbursed in the form of a loan.
BESI operates in 16 European countries as well as in the Americas, Africa and Asia.
Its net profit was €3 million in the first half of the year.
Novo Banco shed its insurance arm Tranquilidade, selling it to Apollo of the United States, while its travel subsidiary Espirito Santo Viagens was sold to Switzerland's Springwater and its health unit Espirito Santo Saude was snapped up by Fosun International following a takeover battle in October.
Fosun, as well as Spanish banks Caixa and Santander, have in the past expressed interest in acquiring Novo Banco.
Novo Banco recently reported a key measure of financial strength that exceeds regulatory requirements, offering an insight into its accounts.
The bank's common equity tier-1 ratio, a measure of how well a lender can absorb losses, was 9.2 per cent on August 4, the day after Bank of Portugal seized control, Novo Banco said on Sunday.
That exceeded the 7 per cent set by the country's central bank and the 8 per cent minimum the European Central Bank used in its balance-sheet review of the region's banks.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg


Haitong Securities to buy Portuguese bank for HK$3.6b

A man walks past an office of Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo. Photo: Reuters

Business

Banking & Finance

Sale of investment unit part of troubled group's plan to raise funds to repay Lisbon government


Novo Banco yesterday sold its investment bank Banco Espirito Santo de Investimento (BESI) to Haitong Securities for €379 million (HK$3.6 billion), the Portuguese bank said.
