Novo Banco and CTT in second round for EuroBic

Novo Banco and Banco CTT have made it to the shortlist of candidates that will go forward to the second round of the competition to buy bank EuroBic.

The two banks join Apollo, one of the largest alternative asset managers, and J.C. Flowers, a private investment firm dedicated to investing globally in the financial services industry.
EuroBic is majority held by the Angolan entrepreneur Isabel dos Santos which saw her 42.5% share seized by the courts over the Angola leaks scandal which broke in early 2020.
For the time being, the Spanish bank Abanca is not taking part in the competition although it has maintained an interest in the bank.
The sale process for the Portuguese bank is being technically overseen by Roland Berger which will manage requests for confidential information about the bank and make it available for the purchase candidates.
The choice of this consultant to prepare the bank’s data-room has been the target of some criticisms from some potentially interested parties in buying the bank which have pointed out “a lack of experience in the banking sector and in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) operations”.
In an interview with the business daily Negócios, the CEO of CTT did not confirm details about the post office bank’s interest in EuroBic but said that the bank was a possible opportunity that appeared unexpectedly in CTT’s path.