PLANNED JOINT VENTURE
Santander awaits bids for a 51% stake in assets of Popular
London — Banco Santander is asking about €5bn for a majority stake in €30bn of real estate loans and assets it inherited when it bought Banco Popular Espanol SA, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. Santander has short-listed Blackstone Group, Apollo Global Management and Lone Star Funds to submit bids for 51% of the assets by the last week of July, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information was private. The bank would keep the remainder and form a joint venture to manage the holdings with the winning bidder, the people said. The successful bidder would also acquire a 51% stake in Aliseda, the former property management company of Popular that Santander bought from Varde Partners and Kennedy Wilson Holdings last week, the people said. Real estate recovery Santander chairman Ana Botin has said her plan to turn around Popular included selling at least half of its real estate assets in the next 18 months. Popular’s troubles reached a crisis ...
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