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CaixaBank, Spain’s third largest lender, said Thursday it would sell nearly 10 percent of its shares for around 1.4 billion euros to help finance its planned takeover of Portugal’s BPI.
The Barcelona-based bank, which already has a stake in the Portuguese lender, formally launched its takeover bid on Wednesday after eyeing it up for months, offering to buy the 55 percent it does not already own for 1.134 euros a share.
In a statement, CaixaBank said the stake sale was “in view of the public offer to buy shares in BPI.”
It added it would sell 585 million of its shares, or a 9.9-percent stake.
Shares closed down 3.1 percent at 2.35 euros on Thursday, which would bring the total amount of the sale to around 1.4 billion euros ($1.6 billion).
CaixaBank has for months had BPI in its sights, but it wanted shareholders in the Portuguese bank to agree to scrap a 20-percent cap on voting rights before launching a formal bid — which they did on Wednesday.
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