China – Portugal | Fosun to pay USD185m for 16.7 percent stake in BCP

Fosun International Ltd. agreed to pay 174.6 million euros (USD185 million) for a stake in Banco Comercial Portugues SA, Portugal’s biggest publicly traded lender by assets.

A unit of Fosun will subscribe to about 157.4 million Banco Comercial shares at 1.1089 euros each through a private placement, equivalent to about 16.67 percent of the expanded share capital, according to a statement from Fosun on Sunday to the Hong Kong stock exchange. The investment will help the Chinese group extend its business in Europe and Africa, it said.

Fosun aims to increase the stake to about 30 percent in the future and additional directors will be nominated on the board of Banco Comercial by Fosun’s unit, according to the statement. Fosun’s proposal to invest in Banco Comercial was initially disclosed in July 2016

Fosun has been one of the most acquisitive Chinese firms in the past three years — buying foreign assets such as French resort chain Club Mediterranee SA and Canadian circus operator Cirque du Soleil — as part of plans to focus its businesses on tourism, healthcare and wealth. Fosun shares were down 7.3 percent this year in Hong Kong, compared with a 2 percent gain in the Hang Seng Index.

Portuguese banks including Banco Comercial and state-owned Caixa Geral de Depositos SA have been trying to boost capital as they address regulator’s requests and the burden of non-performing loans. Kana Nishizawa, Bloomberg