Weil and DLA Piper have advised Nani Holdings S.à. r.l., an affiliate of Lone Star Funds, in relation to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for the sale of Novo Banco, S.A. (“novobanco”), Portugal’s fourth-largest bank, to BPCE, a leading European banking institution, for a cash consideration payable at closing which values 100% of the share capital at an estimated €6.4 billion as of end 2025. DLA Piper advised on all Portuguese law matters.

This transaction marks the culmination of a multi-year transformation of novobanco since Lone Star acquired 75% of the bank in 2017, a deal which both Weil and DLA Piper also advised on. Under Lone Star’s stewardship, in cooperation with other shareholders, novobanco has undergone a comprehensive turn-around, establishing itself as one of the most profitable banks in Europe.

The Weil team was led by Private Equity partner Max Oppenheimer assisted by Jamie Macdonagh and Ian Hamilton, Arisa Manawapat, Will Johnson, Alexander Long and Armand Chateau. The wider team included Tax partner Jenny Doak and associate Enda Kerin, Incentives counsel Kevin Donegan, Antitrust partner Neil Rigby and counsel Anna Zanazzo, Private Funds associate Kate Bystryk, Disputes partner Chris Marks and associate Craig Watson, and Structured Finance partner Jacky Kelly. The European team included Florian Wessel and Laurin Schmidt in Munich, and Emmanuelle Henry in Paris. The DLA Piper Portugal team was led by DLA Piper Portugal’s Managing Partner, and head of corporate and finance department, Nuno Azevedo Neves who was assisted by Ana Isabel Vieira and Sofia Oliveira Moiteiro. The wider core team in Portugal included Disputes partner Vanessa Antunes, Ricardo Violante Teixeira and Sara de Faria Moreira, and Public law partner Mariana Ricardo and Bruno Soares Ferreira.