Spain’s CaixaBank has announced the launch of a takeover bid for above the 50% of Portuguese lender Banco BPI on top of the 44.1% that it has owned for the last 20 years.
CaixaBank said it would pay €1.329 per share in cash to buy Portugal’s fourth bank. The price was 27% up compared to BPI’s closing price on Monday.
The number would bring the Spanish lender’s purchase price up to €1.09bn.
According to the deal, BPI’s shareholders must also vote to remove a rule that restricts CaixaBank to voting rights equivalent to 20% of BPI’s capital.
Through its current stake in BPI, CaixaBank, which is also Spain’s third-largest lender by market value, serves some 1.7m Portuguese clients.
The offer, which will be filed in Portugal’s Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários portuguesa (CMVM) once regulatory approvals will be obtained, will be completed during the second quarter of 2015, CaixaBank said in a note today.