Banco BPI: CaixaBank's latest takeover bid could be blocked by Angola's central bank
CaixaBank's EUR 1.113 per share offer on Banco BPI, the listed Portuguese lender, will need clearance from Banco Nacional de Angola (BNA), reported Jornal de Negocios.
Sources told the paper that BNA approval for the CaixaBank BPI bid, launched on 18 April, is seen as the main hurdle for the Catalan bank's latest attempt to take control of BPI, where it is already the largest investor.
Angola's central bank could stymie the BPI acquisition by CaixaBank because the cross-border transaction involves BFA, the Angolan unit of BPI which the Portuguese financial group has agreed to divest under ECB pressure.
CaixaBank launched its offer after failing to reach agreement to acquire the 18% BPI stake of Isabel dos Santos, who had wanted to take control of BFA in Angola in exchange for exiting BPI. The unresolved problem of BPI's exposure to Angola is a reason for the relatively low price in this week's takeover, which is 16% lower than the offer made in February 2015 and some 32% below the bank's book value.
Jornal de Negocios