CaixaBank Closes Deal for 84.5% Stake in Portugal's Banco BPI

By Patricia Kowsmann

LISBON--Spanish lender CaixaBank SA has become the owner of 84.5% of Portuguese bank Banco BPI SA following a takeover offer that closed Tuesday, Euronext has disclosed.

The acquisition of the stake closes a long-running process involving the Spanish bank, which owned about 45% of the lender, and Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, who had 18.6% of the bank. Ms. dos Santos resisted letting go of her position for many months and until BPI offered to give her control of its Angolan unit. The unit, Banco de Fomento Angola SA, is now 51.9% owned by Unitel SA, a mobile operator controlled by Ms. dos Santos.

CaixaBank's offer for BPI, at EUR1.134 a share, values the Portuguese lender at EUR1.65 billion (about $1.77 billion). The lender hopes the expansion beyond its domestic borders will bolster its profitability. BPI reported a EUR313.2 million net profit last year, a 32.5% increase from 2015.

For Portugal, handing BPI over to a larger lender is a relief, given the struggles of the banking sector. While Portugal didn't face a property bubble like euro-zone peers Spain and Ireland, its companies have been hit hard by a sovereign-debt crisis that led the country to request a EUR78 billion bailout in 2011. A portfolio of souring company loans, along with low interest rates, are hurting lenders' profitability and eating up their capital cushion.

Write to Patricia Kowsmann at patricia.kowsmann@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2017 13:23 ET (18:23 GMT)

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