“We recognize Novo Banco’s untapped potential”, states Lone Star
The Lone Star fund states they will “continue to work tirelessly” with the Bank of Portugal in order to arrange a final agreement for acquiring Novo Banco.
The Bank of Portugal has appointed Lone Star as the favorite bidder for the acquisition of the Portuguese bank Novo Banco. The government will have the final say, but the North-American fund says they will “continue to work tirelessly” with the intervening authorities in order to assure they are able to purchase Novo Banco, which they believe has an “untapped potential”.
“We will continue to work tirelessly with the Bank of Portugal, the Resolution Fund, and the Portuguese Government to confirm a final agreement to support [the restructuring of] Novo Banco”, is stated in the Fund’s press release. They state their aim is to “benefit its customers, employees, creditors, and the overall Portuguese economy” in the long run.
Lone Star was selected among three offers: China Minsheng and Apollo/Centerbridge. Their proposal is to offer 750 million euros to the Resolution Fund and another 750 million to capitalize the bank, but they need state guarantees on some of Novo Banco’s assets.
The same press release states: “We recognize Novo Banco‘s untapped potential, and we seek to invest in Novo Banco – in its business and its people – and to apply our experience in strengthening banks across Europe to position Novo Banco for a successful future”.
“We understand the importance of taking the right steps, in partnership with all of Novo Banco‘s stakeholders, to help restore the bank’s long term health”, Lone Star adds in their press release.
We recognize Novo Banco’s untapped potential, and we seek to invest in Novo Banco – in its business and its people – and to apply our experience in strengthening banks across Europe to position Novo Banco for a successful future.
Lone Star is already familiar with Portugal: “We know Portugal and Iberia well, having invested in companies, assets, and loan portfolios valued at more than €7 billion in the region, and recently opened an office in Lisbon”.
Therefore, the fund concludes in their press release that they are “deeply optimistic about Portugal and the future of the country’s economy”, saying they “seek to provide the capital, resources, and expertise necessary to ensure that Novo Banco remains a strong, domestically focused pillar of the Portuguese banking system”.
