Groupe BPCE to acquire a 75% stake in Novo Banco from Lone Star Funds for €4.8bn.

Groupe BPCE, a French banking group, agreed to acquire a 75% stake in Novo Banco, a Portuguese financial bank, from Lone Star Funds, a private equity firm, for €4.8bn. “BPCE is pleased to announce today the project to acquire novobanco in Portugal. Holding market shares of c.9% with individual customers and c.14% with corporate clients, novobanco possesses excellent fundamentals, strong growth potential and an already high level of profitability. Major player in local banking in France thanks to the Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Epargne banking networks, BPCE would become a retail banking player in Europe with the acquisition of novobanco and would actively participate in financing the Portuguese economy," Nicolas Namias, BPCE CEO.