Haitong in talks to buy Banco Espirito Santo's investment banking unit
Mainland brokerage eyes Banco Espirito Santo's investment bank unit said to be worth €400m
Brokerage Haitong Securities is in talks to buy Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo's investment banking unit, in the latest instance of Chinese finance firms snapping up overseas assets to balance slowing growth at home.
The announcement from the mainland's second-largest brokerage was filed late Thursday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The deal would help internationalise the company and expand its geographical coverage, it said in the announcement.
Buying the bailed-out Portuguese lender's unit would be Haitong's first acquisition outside the mainland and Hong Kong as Chinese financial companies scoop up assets of Western banks hammered by bad debts.
It would be the highest-profile overseas deal by a Chinese brokerage since Citic Securities Citic, the mainland's largest brokerage, purchased CLSA from French bank Credit Agricole for US$1.25 billion last year.
Although the financial terms of the proposed deal have not been disclosed, media in Portugal value the investment bank at around €400 million (HK$3.8 billion).
A spokesman for the bank did not offer any immediate comment when contacted.
Portugal's central bank rescued parent company Banco Espirito Santo using €4.9 billion of public funds in August and is now seeking to recoup the money through asset sales.