By Patricia Kowsmann, Giles Turner and Margot Patrick
Portuguese authorities are nearing sales of parts of the
collapsed Portuguese lender Banco Espírito Santo S.A., as they seek
to recoup money for the state and close a dark chapter in the
country's banking history.
The bank's Miami unit, Espírito Santo Bank in Florida, is
expected to be sold soon, according to two people familiar with the
matter.
The sale of Novo Banco, which kept the good assets, including
loans and deposits of Banco Espírito Santo, has kicked off after
the bank released details of its balance sheet Thursday. The heads
of Spain's Banco Santander S.A. and Portugal's Banco BPI S/A have
both said they would look into the opportunity. Officials from
Chinese conglomerate Fosun International Ltd. were recently in
Lisbon and asked the Bank of Portugal and the government about Novo
Banco, according to a person familiar with the situation.
The central bank and the Portuguese government run the
resolution fund, which bailed out part of Banco Espírito Santo and
injected EUR4.9 billion ($6.03 billion) into Novo Banco. The fund
expects the bank to be sold next year for an amount at least close
to the capital injected. Initial bids are due Dec. 31.
Novo Banco, meanwhile, said Thursday that it is negotiating the
sale of its investment-banking arm to a unit of China's Haitong
Securities Co. Banco Espírito Santo de Investimento S.A. employs
around 1,000 staff, mostly in Lisbon, São Paulo and London, and had
EUR5.81 billion in assets on June 30. It also has a presence in
Warsaw, Angola and Mumbai.
Haitong Securities declined to comment.
While financial terms haven't been disclosed, Haitong Securities
is eager to acquire all of BESI's offices, according to a person
with knowledge of the talks.
The potential sale of the investment bank comes as other units
in the former Espírito Santo group empire are being sold off to
raise money for creditors.
Novo Banco agreed in September to sell insurer Tranquilidade to
Apollo Global Management LLC, while the "bad bank," which kept the
Banco Espírito Santo name, has lined up a buyer for Espírito Santo
Bank in Florida, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The Miami bank, which is the bad bank's biggest unit, was put up
for sale in August despite being entangled in a raft of litigation
and regulatory investigations linked to an Espírito Santo family
member.
Rioforte Investments SA, the Espírito Santo holding company for
nonfinancial companies, is also likely to be liquidated after a
Luxembourg court rejected its appeal for creditor protection.
Assets that have already attracted interest include the 36-story
Espírito Santo Plaza in Miami and Herdade da Comporta, a
real-estate development in Portugal. In October, Rioforte sold its
51% stake in hospital operator Espírito Santo Saude SGPS to a unit
of Fosun for about EUR244 million.
The collapse of the family-controlled Espírito Santo empire and
its main bank rattled global markets this summer.
In May, Banco Espírito Santo disclosed that an audit ordered by
the Portuguese central bank found irregularities in the accounts of
its parent, Espírito Santo International S.A. The conglomerate and
some of its units have since filed for bankruptcy.
Banco Espírito Santo's exposure to the conglomerate triggered a
EUR3.6 billion first-half loss that ate up a considerable part of
the lender's capital, spurring its rescue. About EUR1.3 billion of
that loss came from what the Bank of Portugal described as a
fraudulent funding scheme between companies within the Espírito
Santo empire. The central bank and authorities in Portugal,
Switzerland and the U.S. have launched investigations into the
empire.
China's interest in Novo Banco and its investment arm comes as
Chinese investment banks seek to expand beyond their home regions.
In June, China Merchant Securities Co., the country's third-largest
securities firm, opened its first London office and aimed to create
40 new jobs. Months earlier, GF Financial Markets (U.K.) Ltd., the
regional subsidiary of Chinese securities broker GF Securities,
joined the London Stock Exchange and the London Metal Exchange.
China International Capital Corp. joined the LSE in May 2011.
Africa is also an attractive target for expansion for Chinese
investment banks. In late January this year, Industrial &
Commercial Bank of China Ltd. bought a controlling stake in
London-based global markets business of Standard Bank Group,
allowing it access to fixed income, commodities and currency
trading. ICBC already has a stake in Standard Bank, Africa's
largest lender.
Novo Banco owns a 9.9% stake in Angola's Banco Económico S.A.,
formerly known as BES Angola. Banco Espírito Santo owned 56% of
that bank before Angola's central bank was forced to intervene to
save the lender and its souring loan portfolio.
Write to Patricia Kowsmann at patricia.kowsmann@wsj.com and
Margot Patrick at margot.patrick@wsj.com
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