Portugal: PLMJ Assists Barclays In The Sale Of Its Business In Portugal

The law firm assembled a multidisciplinary team of 53 lawyers for this operation which took around one year to complete

The law firm PLMJ assisted Barclays in the sale of its business in Portugal to the Spanish bank Bankinter. A complex operation that took more than one year to be completed and was supervised and coordinated by PLMJ Banking and Finance senior associate, Hugo Nunes e Sá. The whole of Barclays' retail and wealth business and part of its corporate banking business were transferred to Bankinter, which begins operations in Portugal as from today.

Hugo Rosa Ferreira, the partner who heads PLMJ Banking and Finance, explains that this "was a particularly complex operation, because we had to structure the transfer as a sale of assets and liabilities, not simply as a sale and purchase of shares. This is because Barclays operates in Portugal through a branch. 53 lawyers from eight different practice areas each made a decisive contribution to the success of this operation, working in what was a truly multidisciplinary team."

Barclays put its Portuguese business up for sale in May 2014 as part of the restructuring process of the British group. The acquisition includes the retail, private and corporate banking areas of the business and gives the Spanish bank access to a network of 84 branches in Portugal.

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