France's BPCE Group has agreed to acquire Portugal's fourth-largest bank Novo Banco, including the 75% stake held by U.S. private equity fund Lone Star, in a deal valued at 6.4 billion euros ($7.4 billion), the parties said on Friday, as cited by Reuters. The Portuguese state and a bank resolution fund financed by the country's banks, which hold 11.5% and 13.5% of Novo Banco respectively, said separately that they had also agreed to sell their stakes to BPCE. As of March 31, 2025, Novo Banco