EuroBic shareholders postpone appointment of new management

  • ECO News
  • 27 April 2020

Teixeira dos Santos and his team will remain in office until the sale process to Abanca is concluded. Pandemic delayed the due dilligence of the Spaniards.

EuroBic’s general meeting of shareholders was to elect the bank’s new governing bodies on Monday, as the current management saw its term of office end in 2019. But it was suspended so Teixeira dos Santos and the rest of the team will remain in office for longer, until the sale process to Abanca is concluded, according to Expresso.

The Covid-19 pandemic delayed the audit of EuroBic’s accounts. Initially, the due diligence made by the Spaniards was expected to be completed in the first days of April, but there were delays due to the situation of confinement recommended by the authorities, so that only during the month of May will it be ready. A source close to the process said, despite the pandemic, everything is running normally and Abanca remains interested in the business.

“The operation is going according to plan and Abanca is committed to this acquisition,” the Galician bank also told ECO two weeks ago.

Abanca is negotiating the purchase of EuroBic for around 240 million euros after Isabel dos Santos put her stake in the company for sale in January following the controversy surrounding Luanda Leaks. The Angolan businesswoman, who holds 45% of the Portuguese bank’s shares, gave up her voting rights as soon as she announced her departure from the EuroBic shareholder structure and did not vote at this general meeting.

A last decision from Abanca will be made once due diligence is completed. The Bank of Portugal has already signalled that the purchase operation of EuroBic should not be hindered by the supervisor.