BCP says investors would step in if Fosun exits

Portugal’s BCP said it sees institutional investor interest that could absorb Fosun’s stake if the Chinese group decides to exit, a sign that the bank believes shareholder demand would remain strong even if its largest investor sold its 20.5% holding.

Speaking on a call with analysts on July 30, chief financial officer Miguel Bragança said Fosun was satisfied with its investment in BCP but did not hold a controlling position. “It is not an M&A issue”, he said, adding that “some institutional investors” would probably be available to invest in the bank because of its investment case and that BCP was seeing “great interest” in its shares.

ECO asked the bank which investors might be interested, including whether Portugal’s planned sovereign fund or insurer Ageas could be among them, but BCP declined to comment on specific investors or market scenarios. An official source said only that the bank wanted to remain “a good investment for shareholders” and was focused on supporting interest from a diversified shareholder base.

The comments come after months of market speculation that Fosun could sell its stake to raise cash as it works to reduce debt, following a strong rise in BCP’s share price since the pandemic. BCP reported first-half profit of €566 million on July 29, and the stock is up more than 20% since the start of the year, according to the material provided.

Analysts have also raised target prices after the results. CaixaBank BPI set the highest target cited in the report at €1.25 per share, while Deutsche Bank lifted its target to €1.18 and said stronger domestic recovery and loan growth were supporting earnings.

Originally published at Eco.pt