In a statement issued on Wednesday night, the Bank of Portugal said Lone Star was the best positioned entity to assume control of what was formerly Banco Espírito Santo. The Portuguese banking regulator added that the decision does not however preclude other groups from improving their offers to purchase Novo Banco.
“The Bank of Portugal has concluded from the available information that the potential investor, Lone Star is in the best position to successfully finalise the negotiation process regarding the sale of Novo Banco shares and decided to invite it to deeper negotiations”, the central bank said in the statement it sent to the Portuguese Stock Exchange Commission (CMVM).
Reports on Thursday suggested that Lone Star was ready to pay 750 million euros for Novo Banco, with business daily Jornal de Negócios saying the Fund would invest a similar amount to reinforce the bank’s capital.