Lone Star sets ball rolling for Novobanco selloff or floatation
The US asset management firm Lone Star that holds the controlling share in Portugal’s Novobanco is said to be “selecting advisors” to explore a possible sale or Initial Public Offer (IPO).
According to Bloomberg, Lone Star has already hired Deutsche Bank to assist in the exploration of possible selloff or stock market floatation options.
The aim is to press ahead with discussions with potential buyers says the new agency citing anonymous sources.
At the same time Lone Star (it holds 75%) is also looking at dispersing the bank’s capital on the Euronext Lisboa stock market.
The business daily Negócios contacted the bank headed by Mark Bourke, which preferred not to comment.
The bank was founded in 2014 after its assets and losses were taken over by the Portuguese State and financed with cashflow from a Resolution Fund set up under the guidance of the European Central Bank after the collapse of the Banco Espírito Santo group that same year.
It is estimated that covering losses, the cost of restructuring the new bank and providing it with funding to keep it afloat cost the Portuguese banking system and the taxpayer anywhere between €8-11Bn in what was the biggest bank bailout in Portugal’s history.