Haitong Buys NOVO BANCO Investment Bank (BESI)

Yesterday, Haitong bought Novo Banco investment bank for last December's agreed value of 379 million Euros ($425 million). Last December's talk between Novo Banco and the Chinese brokerage Haitong Securities Ltd company closed with a possible future sale of the BES Investment Bank for 379 million Euros ($425 million). The sale has since then been approved by the Bank of Portugal, the European Commission and other supervising authorities. Last August, after a state rescue, the Portuguese bank “Novo Banco” was carved out as the “good bank” from the Banco Espirito Santo (BES) bank. The bank crumbled under the weight of the debts built up by the bankruptcy of the Espirito Santo Group. Unconfirmed rumors point to a possible change of the BESI headquarters over to London and the abandonment of the “Espirito Santo” reference related to the previous shareholder's family name. According to José Maria Ricciardi, the former BESI appointed Director, "BESI will be a strategic bank to the EMEA [Europe, Middle East, and Africa] and the Americas." BESI business plan for the next three years expects up to 1.5 billion Euros capital raise, which could occur through various operations including possible future acquisitions.