S&P: Novobanco could be the biggest European banking IPO in more than ten years
The rating agency recalls Novobanco's success story: "From one of Europe's best-known failed banks, it has become a more profitable and efficient bank than most of its European peers."
If Novobanco decides to go public, it could be the biggest initial public offering (IPO) of a European bank in at least ten years, according to financial rating agency Standard & Poor’s.
The largest bank IPO in Europe was realised by the Dutch ABN Amro in 2015, for 3.84 billion euros. Since then, all European bank IPOs have had lower values.
Novobanco could thus bring a new chapter to European banking. The Portuguese bank has been working on an IPO for several months — in February, Lone Star, which holds a 75% stake, gave the management the mandate to go ahead with it. CEO Mark Bourke has insisted on the idea of having an “independent bank” and recently said that the operation could take place at the end of June or in September, depending on market conditions.
The Portuguese bank could be evaluated at between 5.5 billion and seven billion euros, according to Spanish broker JB Capital. In other words, “if it goes public, Novobanco’s IPO could be the biggest for a European bank in years”, S&P said in a note published on Thursday.
Analysts at the American rating agency point out that Lone Star has other options for selling the bank, including a transaction with a direct competitor.
Bloomberg reported last week that the private equity fund was in talks with Caixabank, the Spanish owner of BPI. ECO had already reported in April that the French group BPCE, which owns Natixis, was interested. Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) also publicly stated that it was analysing Novobanco.
S&P also summarises Novobanco’s journey over the last ten years, since the resolution applied to BES in 2014: “From one of Europe’s best-known failed banks, it has become a more profitable, efficient and well-capitalised bank than most other major European banks.”
