The bank also said that these bonds represented 57% of the face value of the bonds covered by the offer.

The deal is going to allow it to fulfil its capital increase objectives and equivalent gains, including interest savings of around €500 million, it said in a communiqué.

The liquidation date is scheduled for today and the sale of Novo Banco to Lone Star should take place “immediately after the formal European Commission (EC) authorisation”.

NB was created following the resolution of Banco Espírito Santo (BES) on 3 August 2014 as a transition bank. It is fully owned by the Resolution Fund, an entity that is owned by the banks in the Portuguese system, but managed by the Bank of Portugal.

Lone Star is not going to pay anything, but it is going to have to inject €1 billion into Novo Banco to capitalise it, some €750 million of which is going to be handed over when the deal goes through and the other €250 million by 2020.