In a statement released late on Tuesday, the Bank of Portugal said it would assess the three proposals made in this, the third stage of the process, “in the coming weeks”.
On 17 April, the institution said that it had selected five of the seven bidders that took part in the second phase of the process, and set 30 June as the deadline for binding offers. Of the 17 prospective bidders that had taken part in the first phase, 15 were allowed to go through to the second, but not all of whom subsequently submitted a formal bid for the bank.
Novo Banco is owned by a banking sector resolution fund, which was able to take it over only with the help of a €3.6-billion state loan. It had been spun off as a ‘good bank’ from BES, which remained as the ‘bad bank’, containing toxic assets.
According to press reports last month, the favourites to buy Novo Banco included Fosun of China, which already has significant interests in Portugal, and Anbang, also of China - as the only institutions ready to pay more than €4 billion. Others seen as prime candidates were Banco Santander of Spain and US investment funds Apollo and Cerberus, which have spent the past few weeks undertaking due diligence.
The main criterion for the choice of winning bidder is “attractiveness of the financial offer”, followed by the readiness to buy all assets put up for sale, the strategic development plans submitted for the bank, and the general impact of the operation on banking sector competition and stability in Portugal.