Fosun International Ltd agreed to pay €174.6 million ($185 million) for a stake in Banco Comercial Portugues SA, Portugal’s biggest publicly traded lender by assets.
A unit of Fosun will subscribe to about 157.4 million Banco Comercial shares at €1.1089 each through a private placement, equivalent to about 16.67% of the expanded share capital, according to a statement from Fosun on Sunday to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
The investment will help the Chinese group extend its business in Europe and Africa, it said.
Fosun aims to increase the stake to about 30% in the future and additional directors will be nominated on the board of Banco Comercial by Fosun’s unit, according to the statement. Fosun’s proposal to invest in Banco Comercial was initially disclosed in July 2016.
Fosun has been one of the most acquisitive Chinese firms in the past three years—buying foreign assets such as French resort chain Club Mediterranee SA and Canadian circus operator Cirque du Soleil—as part of plans to focus its businesses on tourism, healthcare, and wealth.
Fosun International shares were down 7.3% this year in Hong Kong, compared with a 2% gain in the Hang Seng Index.
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Source: Mint
