Fosun International Ltd. (0656.HK) is considering a sale of its 20.45% stake in Banco Comercial Portugues, Portugal’s largest listed bank, as it sells down non-core assets to improve its financial health, according to media reports.
Fosun is weighing different options for its stake in the bank, which it no longer considers a strategic asset, according to the reports, citing local media Expresso. Fosun purchased nearly 30% of the bank in 2016 at the height of its buying spree of both domestic and global assets. It has been selling down the stake recently.
Fosun suffered from a liquidity crisis in 2022 and 2023 as it struggled under huge debt load it took on following its acquisition binge in the 2010s. Since then it has sold off assets it considers non-core to improve its liquidity. But the company still faces pressure from its large exposure to China’s ailing property market, which led the company to report a massive 23.4 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) loss last year.
Fosun International’s shares are down about 2.2% over the two trading days since the Expresso report’s publication. The stock is down about 7% this year.
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