Lone Star agrees to sell Portugal's Novo Banco to France's BPCE for €6.4 billion
French banking group BPCE has agreed to buy US private equity fund Lone Star's 75% stake in Novo Banco in a deal that values Portugal's fourth-largest bank at €6.4 billion, following a wave of consolidation in European banking.
Novo Banco was created in 2014 from the collapsed Banco Espirito Santo (BES) after a state bailout, with Lone Star buying its stake in 2017 for €1 billion.
Nicolas Namias, the chief executive of France's second largest domestic bank which operates under the Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne brands, said in a statement that the Portuguese acquisition would allow his group to become a retail banking player in Europe.
The Portuguese state and a banking resolution fund financed by the country's banks own the remaining 25% stake in Novo Banco, and enjoy a tag-along clause that allows them to sell on the same terms as Lone Star.
"I do think that this acquisition is fully in line with what the ECB is advocating for, which is European banking consolidation," Namias said in a call with journalists.
Europe's banking sector has seen renewed consolidation activity, with domestic and cross-border deals back in focus.
In Spain, BBVA announced a more than €14 billion hostile bid for rival Sabadell last year, aiming to gain scale and cut costs in its home market.
The CEO of Italy's UniCredit, Andrea Orcel, last year made a move on Germany's Commerzbank and smaller Italian peer Banco, sparking angry reactions in both Berlin and Rome.
BPCE already has a small consumer credit operation in Portugal and its subsidiary Natixis has a technology centre handling IT services and back office for the whole group.
As of March, Novo Banco had €30 billion in deposits and €28.5 billion in net loans, equivalent to a 9% market share in Portugal. It has almost 300 bank branches and more than 4,200 employees.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sunday World
12 hours ago
- Sunday World
Liverpool agree potential British record deal for Florian Wirtz
Premier League champions Liverpool have agreed a club-record deal worth up to £116million to sign Florian Wirtz after Bayer Leverkusen finally settled on a fee for their playmaker. The Reds had two bids rejected, the last one of £113m which would have seen £100m paid up front with performance-related add-ons, but have finally got the deal over the line. Liverpool will still pay an initial £100m – comfortably surpassing their own record outlay – but the performance-related add-ons, if achieved, would make it a potential British record. Liverpool have broken their club record to sign Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz (Peter Byrne/PA) Leverkusen had valued the 22-year-old Germany international around £125m but regardless, Liverpool's overall outlay could surpass the £115m Chelsea paid Brighton in 2023 for Moises Caicedo – who turned down Anfield after the Seagulls had accepted an offer which was subsequently matched by their Premier League rivals. Striker Darwin Nunez was their previous record signing in 2022, although they have not paid the full £85m as he has not met all the requirements for certain add-ons to be due. Liverpool, like a number of top European clubs, had been watching Wirtz for some time but did not consider themselves front-runners for his signature. However, after Manchester City pulled out, reportedly due to the spiralling costs of the whole package, and Wirtz expressed a preference for Merseyside over Bayern Munich, sporting director Richard Hughes changed gear. The signing of Florian Wirtz will take Liverpool's summer spending close to £200million (Matthias Schrader/AP) Talks were already ongoing with Leverkusen over Jeremie Frimpong, who became the first new addition to Arne Slot's squad in a £30m deal late last month, which made the line of communication easier. Hughes' connections with his former club Bournemouth mean he was also well-placed to progress talks with the Cherries over the signing of left-back Milos Kerkez, a player he originally brought to the Premier League. The full extent of Wirtz's fee will only be paid if Liverpool enjoy a sustained level of elite success and the club's view is that should that be the case, the considerable cost will have been recouped on the pitch. With Kerkez next on the list their summer spending could edge close to £200m, made possible by financial discipline in the last two windows which saw only Federico Chiesa brought in for a cut-price £10m last August. Milos Kerkez has been linked with a move from Bournemouth to Liverpool (Nick Potts/PA) That approach was justified when Slot's team won the title but with their rivals strengthening it was apparent additions were required in certain areas. It is likely to be their biggest summer window since 2018 when Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alisson Becker were recruited for around £170m, with Virgil van Dijk having signed for £75m the previous January. Owners Fenway Sports Group have, despite their 'Moneyball' reputation, not been afraid to splash out big fees for transformative players like Van Dijk and Alisson – and Wirtz, one of the hottest prospects in Europe, falls into that category. The fact the forward, who only turned 22 a month ago, opted for Anfield over more lucrative offers from other European clubs is also seen as validation of the work Slot has done and the squad he already has at his disposal.
Agriland
16 hours ago
- Agriland
An Bord Pleanála refuses permission for grain facility in Cork
An Bord Pleanála has refused planning permission for a proposed grain storage and distribution facility in Co. Cork. Comex McKinnon Limited, which specialises in the supply of Irish-grown and imported cereals and non-grain feed ingredients, had proposed to construct the development on a 3ha site at the Belvelly Port Facility at Marino Point, Cobh. The original proposed development included a building for maize storage with a capacity of 18,000t and a general grain store building, with 20,000t capacity. The development also included two weighbridges and an ancillary weighbridge office building, ESB substation, rooftop PV panels, perimeter fencing and the use of the existing jetty to facilitate cargo vessels. According to the application, the maize and grain would be imported every two weeks on average through the jetty for cleaning and screening at the facility before being distributed by truck. Grain facility On December 19, 2024, Cork County Council refused planning permission for the development. The local authority said that in the absence of 'satisfactory proposals' to upgrade the R624 regional road, the proposed development would generate traffic which would adversely impact on the road network and contribute to traffic congestion in the area. The council also said that without a final detailed operational environmental management plan, it was not possible to determine that there would not be adverse effects on Natura 2000 European sites associated with the proposed development. In its appeal to An Bord Pleanála, Comex McKinnon said the proposal represented an opportunity to significantly reduce the carbon impact of its existing road freight and logistics operations. As the development would serve a single end user not on the rail network, the company said road transport was necessary. Comex McKinnon said the relocation of port facilities from existing port facility in Kilkenny to Marino Point would remove 180kms of vehicle trips for each trip undertaken. The application outlined that all vehicle trips associated with the proposal will be at off-peak times to reduce traffic impacts. An electric HGV fleet would also be powered through the proposed PV panels. Comex McKinnon put forward an alternative option to the board which removed the general grain store with a capacity of 20,000t. The revised proposal was for storage, processing and distribution of maize only, within an 18,000t facility. An observation from a third party made to An Bord Pleanála said the application was premature pending road infrastructure upgrades in the area and would endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard or obstruction to road users. An Bord Pleanála Matthew McRedmond, An Bord Pleanála senior inspector, considered the revised design to be a reasonable proposal to reduce the traffic and transport associated impacts, and the potential dust related impacts associated with grain processing and transfer. The inspector noted the more recent refusals of permission for an agricultural fertiliser facility and a battery energy storage facility at Marino Point. He said this proposed development is entirely reliant on a road network for its distribution, but the site currently has poor road connectivity. The inspector said the heavy vehicles required for distribution would 'adversely impact on the carrying capacity of the road network serving Cobh and its hinterland'. 'It is accordingly considered that the proposed development of such a road dependant facility would be premature pending significant road improvements,' he said. The board agreed with the inspector's recommendation and refused permission for the proposed development.
RTÉ News
17 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Lone Star agrees to sell Portugal's Novo Banco to France's BPCE for €6.4 billion
French banking group BPCE has agreed to buy US private equity fund Lone Star's 75% stake in Novo Banco in a deal that values Portugal's fourth-largest bank at €6.4 billion, following a wave of consolidation in European banking. Novo Banco was created in 2014 from the collapsed Banco Espirito Santo (BES) after a state bailout, with Lone Star buying its stake in 2017 for €1 billion. Nicolas Namias, the chief executive of France's second largest domestic bank which operates under the Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne brands, said in a statement that the Portuguese acquisition would allow his group to become a retail banking player in Europe. The Portuguese state and a banking resolution fund financed by the country's banks own the remaining 25% stake in Novo Banco, and enjoy a tag-along clause that allows them to sell on the same terms as Lone Star. "I do think that this acquisition is fully in line with what the ECB is advocating for, which is European banking consolidation," Namias said in a call with journalists. Europe's banking sector has seen renewed consolidation activity, with domestic and cross-border deals back in focus. In Spain, BBVA announced a more than €14 billion hostile bid for rival Sabadell last year, aiming to gain scale and cut costs in its home market. The CEO of Italy's UniCredit, Andrea Orcel, last year made a move on Germany's Commerzbank and smaller Italian peer Banco, sparking angry reactions in both Berlin and Rome. BPCE already has a small consumer credit operation in Portugal and its subsidiary Natixis has a technology centre handling IT services and back office for the whole group. As of March, Novo Banco had €30 billion in deposits and €28.5 billion in net loans, equivalent to a 9% market share in Portugal. It has almost 300 bank branches and more than 4,200 employees.
