Banco BPI has reached an agreement to sell its entire 33.35% stake in Banco de Fomento Angola (BFA) for a fixed price of €388.5 million, plus a variable component. The transaction marks a further step in the Portuguese banking group's withdrawal from African banking investments and revives scrutiny of its 35.67% holding in Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI) in Mozambique, which BPI continues to signal it is willing to divest.
Announced on 3 September, the agreement provides for the acquisition of the stake by Congolian Financial (CFSA), a company linked to Grupo Carrinho, which has a presence in Angola's agro-industrial sector. Should the transaction proceed on the terms announced, the buyer would become BFA's second-largest shareholder, behind Unitel, which holds 36.9% of the bank's capital.
The purchase price comprises €345 million payable upon completion of the transaction and approximately €43.5 million due in May 2027. At that point, a variable component will also become payable, corresponding to half of the 2026 financial year dividends attributable to the shares being sold.
Completion is subject to a number of conditions, including non-objection from the Banco Nacional de Angola, confirmation from the Capital Markets Commission that the acquisition does not trigger a mandatory public takeover offer, and the non-exercise of Unitel's pre-emption rights. The parties will announce the transaction date once all required conditions have been satisfied.
The stake was carried at €379 million in BPI's books as of 30 June. Based solely on the fixed price and that book value reference, BPI estimates a positive impact of approximately €9 million on its equity. The final effect will also depend on the variable component and the book value at the time of completion.
BPI's connection to the Angolan market predates BFA's establishment as a locally incorporated bank in 2002, tracing back to its acquisition in 1996 of Banco de Fomento e Exterior, which had already been operating a branch in Luanda since 1993.
The reduction of BPI's stake has taken place in stages. In 2008, BPI sold 49.9% to Unitel, retaining a majority of 50.1%. In January 2017, it sold a further two percentage points to the telecoms operator, reducing its holding to 48.1% and relinquishing majority control.
In September 2025, BFA's stock market listing allowed the Portuguese bank to sell a further 14.75% of the capital. The operation generated proceeds in kwanzas equivalent to approximately €103 million at the exchange rate applied at the time, leaving BPI with the 33.35% stake now covered by the current agreement.
In Mozambique, BPI retains a 35.67% stake in BCI. Control of the bank rests with the Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) group, which holds a combined 61.51% through Caixa Participações, with 51%, and a direct holding of 10.51%.
BPI's management has repeatedly stated that its African banking investments are no longer strategic. "Operations in Africa are not strategic," chief executive João Pedro Oliveira e Costa said at the presentation of first-half results on 31 July.
On the same occasion, he clarified that the bank's willingness to divest its Mozambican holding had not yet translated into active negotiations: "We are not negotiating the sale of our 35% with CGD or with anyone else," he declared, according to Jornal Económico.
In the meantime, BPI has changed the accounting treatment of its BCI investment. In the first half of 2026, the stake was reclassified from an associate accounted for under the equity method to a financial asset measured at fair value through other comprehensive income. The reclassification had a negative impact of €35 million on BPI's half-year results.
In practical terms, BPI will no longer incorporate its share of BCI's profits into its income statement and will instead recognise dividends received, while changes in the value of the stake will be reflected in equity. According to BPI's financial management, the initial impact primarily reflected the transfer of reserves to results, without in itself altering the value of the holding or total equity.
The future of BCI's shareholder structure also includes another possibility: a listing on the Bolsa de Valores de Moçambique. CGD has been exploring that option, which was discussed in May between chief executive Paulo Macedo and President of the Republic Daniel Chapo.
The Caixa chief executive nonetheless reiterated the intention to preserve control of the Mozambican bank. "Regardless of whether something is divested or not, CGD intends to retain a majority of the capital," he said, in remarks reported by Diário Económico in July. Any potential stock exchange listing will also depend on sufficient investor demand for the shares.
The BFA agreement thus gives concrete expression to the divestment intention BPI has publicly stated. For BCI, however, no buyer, price, or sale timeline has yet been announced. A potential stock market listing adds one more possibility to the shareholder restructuring, but has not been presented as an agreed solution for the Portuguese bank's exit.
Source: Diário Económico
Original article: https://www.diarioeconomico.co.mz/2026/09/06/mundo/angola/angola-bpi-acorda-venda-de-3335-do-bfa-e-mantem-saida-do-bci-em-aberto/
