EuroBic sale likely to go ahead this week

The shareholders of EuroBic and Spanish bank Abanca have met this week to hammer out the details of a sale operation after the two parties reached an agreement on the sale price.

The sale of EuroBic to Abanca was expected to be sealed on Tuesday according to the business daily Jornal Económico which has sources close to the banks.
However, at the time of writing an official confirmation had not been issued by either of the two financial institutions.
The shareholders held round table talks to discuss the finer details of the sale , namely the final price to be paid by Abanca which will reflect the fallout from the Covid-19 crisis and an audit undertaken by EY Spain into EuroBic and is expected to have reached an agreement.
An official source at Abanca said that contrary to reports circulating in some circles, the purchase of EuroBic had not been completed and that it was not yet possible to provide a date for its possible conclusion.
Negotiations have been ongoing in recent days between the two sets of shareholders on the value to pay because the criteria for giving a value to EuroBic is the same as in February but that an adjustment to the book value relative to the Covid-19 impact and the audit which will have pushed down the price.
EuroBic’s Angolan shareholders, Isabel dos Santos and Fernando Teles are said to be resisting pressure to reduce the sale price of the bank. However, the deal should go forward because the Bank of Portugal has indicated that the agreement is essential to EuroBic’s future.