BPCE’s Dealmaking Boss Stumbles Over Raids, Italy Opposition

BPCE Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Namias had just walked into the Great Hall of the Portuguese finance ministry to formalize one of the biggest deals of his career, the €6.4 billion ($7.5 billion) acquisition of Novo Banco, when he was told there was a problem.

Novo Banco’s headquarters were being raided by police, part of an investigation into suspected corruption in a legacy real estate deal. The news took everyone by surprise including the CEO, who had come to put his signature on a pledge to buy a 25% stake in the local lender from the Portuguese government, after agreeing earlier to buy 75% from private equity firm Lone Star.