By Jeannette Neumann
MADRID-- Caixabank SA on Tuesday said it was launching a
takeover bid for the 55.9% of Portuguese lender Banco BPI SA that
it doesn't already own, as the Spanish lender seeks to bolster its
presence in the Iberian peninsula.
Caixabank, Spain's third-largest lender by market value, said it
would pay EUR1.329 a share in cash, representing a 28% premium to
BPI's closing share price Monday. The price means Caixabank could
spend as much as EUR1.09 billion ($1.24 billion) to purchase
Portugal's No. 4 bank.
The Spanish bank said 50% of the Portuguese lender's
shareholders must approve the takeover bid. BPI's shareholders must
also vote to remove a rule that restricts Caixabank to voting
rights equivalent to 20% of BPI's capital.
BPI has expressed interest in bidding for Novo Banco, the lender
that was carved out from the collapse Portugal's Banco Espírito
Santo.
If Caixabank closes the purchase of BPI, and then bought Novo
Banco, it would solidify its role as the Spanish bank with the
greatest presence in Portugal and across the Iberian peninsula.
While Spanish rivals Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya
Argentaria SA are larger than Caixabank in terms of market value,
partly because of their presence in Latin America, Caixabank has
the greatest number of bank branches and the largest market share
within Spain.
Caixabank said in a regulatory filing Tuesday morning that the
purchase would chip away at its "fully loaded" capital ratio by 0.8
to 1.4 percentage points, depending on the level of shareholder
acceptance of the deal.
The bank said it plans to have a fully loaded capital ratio,
which are the requirements under the latest regulatory guidelines,
above 11% after the deal is complete.
Caixabank is hosting an investor call to discuss the takeover
bid at 10 a.m. Madrid time.
Write to Jeannette Neumann at jeannette.neumann@wsj.com
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