Exclusive-Fosun open to sale of Portuguese bank stake, sources say

By Andres Gonzalez, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Sergio Goncalves

LONDON/LISBON (Reuters) -Fosun International is open to selling its remaining stake in Portugal's Millennium bcp after disposing of some shares earlier this year, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The Chinese conglomerate, which aims to boost its working capital amid what analysts see as debt pressure, has been evaluating options, such as finding a strategic buyer for the 20% holding, one of the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The stake was worth around 836 million euros ($910 million) on Monday, according to LSEG data.

European lenders including Spain's BBVA and CaixaBank have been sounded out as potential buyers, the second source said.

However, CaixaBank has indicated it has little interest in acquiring the stake, that source and a third one familiar with the lender's thinking said.

A Fosun spokesperson denied the company was selling its stake in Millennium bcp, saying it had no intention to sell the stake to the banks named in the Reuters report.

"We remain steadfast in our strategic investment and partnership commitments in Portugal and around the world," the spokesperson said.

Millennium bcp, BBVA, and Caixabank declined to comment.

In January, Fosun sold 5.6% of Portugal's largest listed bank for 235 million euros in a private offering to institutional investors arranged by UBS.

A spokesperson for the Chinese group said at the time that it planned to retain a stake above 20%.

Fosun is the largest single shareholder in Millennium bcp, followed by Angolan state oil company Sonangol with 19.49%.

Fosun is reviewing other financial services investments, the first source said. Fosun has been considering the sale of its stake in Ageas, Bloomberg reported last month.

The conglomerate disclosed in a filing last week that it had entered into a so-called prepaid forward contract with an investment bank to sell 1.8% of the insurer over time.

Fosun is also studying a possible partial IPO of Portuguese insurance company Fidelidade, probably for 2025, a spokesperson for Fidelidade told Reuters.

($1 = 0.9190 euros)

(Reporting by Andres Gonzalez, Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro and Sergio Goncalves. Additional reporting by Kane Wu and Jesus Aguado. Editing by Anousha Sakoui and Mark Potter)