The target of BBVA’s OPA was already a BCP shareholder. It left the capital of the Portuguese institution when Fosun entered.
Sabadell – the fourth largest Spanish bank – has a history of ties to Portugal, and not just through the branch it maintains in the country. He was once one of the main shareholders of BCP, which he left when Fosun joined.
With origins that, like those of BBVA, date back to the 19th century, the financial institution stands out above all through its connection to Small and Medium-sized Companies, a sector in which, according to the bank that launched the OPA this Thursday, Sabadell is the leader , with a share of 12.7%.
In 2023, Sabadell reported a net profit of 1,332 million euros, more than 55% above the value reported in the previous year. Shareholder profitability (RoTE) was 11.5%. At the end of last year, the financial institution had a total of 235 billion euros in assets, which places it in fourth place on the list of the largest banks in Spain.
Sabadell and Fosun cross paths with BCP
The financial institution led by César González-Bueno was a BCP shareholder for more than a decade – and the Portuguese institution also had capital from the Spanish bank through the pension fund. Sabadell left BCP’s capital in 2016, when Fosun entered.
“With Fosun’s entry, all we could do was increase our participation or withdraw from the race for control of BCP”Sabadell said at the time, adding that “as the Chinese want to increase their participation, the reasonable thing is for us to reduce ours”.
