NB merges asset management entities

Novobanco is preparing a reorganisation of is asset management businesses in which it will concentrate the activities and assets of various management companies into one “super” manager that will have around €7.8Bn of assets under management according to the online news source ECO.

It involves a merger whereby GNB Fundos Mobiliários will absorb all of the assets of GNB – Gestão de Ativos, GNB Gestão de Patrimónios and GNB Real Estate. These latter three companies will be wound up while GNB Fundos Mobiliários will be called GNB – Gestão de Ativos (GNB – Asset Management).
“The merger will enable a single management structure for the different strands of the business, enabling the simplification of decision-making processes, the enhancement of strategic planning and the approach to the different segments of the market, as well as a greater capacity to pursue a strategy of growth and efficient management of resources aligned with the group’s policy of best practices in matters of sustainability”, states the bank in its merger project report.
Novobanco’s largest shareholder, the US fund Lone Star (75%) is looking to sell the bank in 2024. The bank has been undergoing a top-down restructuring since 2017 and has offloaded millions of NPLs in vehicles such as Project Natas and Project Harvey, as well as having recently sold off property and parcels of land worth €360 million in Lisbon and the Algarve.
The rest of the bank (11.96%) is owned by a State treasury and finances entity Direção-Geral do Tesouro e Finanças (DGTF) and the Resolution Fund. (13.04%) Novobanco posted profits of €560.8 million in 2022 and closed Q1 of 2023 with €150 million.