Fosun will buy a 16.7-percent stake in Portugal’s Millennium BCP for 174.6 million euros (US$185 million), via a reserved capital increase, Reuters reports.
After the dilution of capital, the Chinese conglomerate will become the bank’s biggest shareholder, the news agency says.
A statement issued on Sunday by the bank says the parties have signed a memorandum of understanding where Fosun “expresses strong interest to subsequently raise its shareholding in BCP to around 30 percent” via primary or secondary market transactions.
Investing in the bank was a big step in Fosun’s internationalisation strategy, a spokesman said.
Fosun has controlled Fidelidade, Portugal’s leading insurer, since 2014.