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MADRID/LISBON: Spain's Caixabank on Tuesday announced a full takeover bid for Portugal's third-largest listed lender Banco BPI, offering more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for the 55.9 percent of the lender it does not already own.
The cash offer of 1.329 euros per share, or a 27 percent premium against BPI's closing price on Monday, is dependent on obtaining the backing of at least 50 percent of shareholders, including its own 44.1 percent stake, Caixabank said in a statement to the market regulator.
Caixabank shares fell 2.8 percent, while shares in BPI were suspended from trading by the market regulator.
Caixabank is less diversified internationally than big Spanish peers Santander and BBVA but has stakes in Hong Kong's Bank of East Asia, France's Boursorama, Austria's Erste group and Mexico's Grupo Inbursa.
The offer leaves unclear the fate of BPI's intention to buy rival Novo Banco, the successor to Portugal's state-rescued Banco Espirito Santo, although Caixabank said it "intends to continue to support the management team at BPI".
BPI, along with Santander and Popular, was among 17 institutions which had expressed interest in buying Novo Banco.
The buyout will hit Caixabank's fully-loaded capital ratio by 80 to 140 basis points, depending on the level of acceptance, and would produce gains from the combination of businesses worth 130 million euros a year from 2017 and overall net present value synergy gains worth 650 million euros, the Spanish bank said.
BESI analyst Juan Carlos Calvo said the deal is slightly positive for Caixabank as it would give direct access to the Portuguese market, and although the premium was high, its post-transaction capital ratio should still be reasonable.
"For BPI shareholders, we think the bid price is very attractive so we recommend they accept the bid," he said.
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