There are about 9,000 properties, according to Público, now managed by the American company based in Dallas. The management agreement foresees that this assets remain recorded in the balance sheet of the Novo Banco and that it will be managed and monetized by the vehicle, for its subsequent sale.
The Novo Banco explains that “following the acquisition of the Novo Banco, Lone Star hired Hudson Advisers to control and support the bank's recovery plan” and that the agreement in question forbids “the possibility of transactions between Lone Star and Novo Banco Group", except contracts "up to a maximum value of €7.5 million".
For any subsequent sale of these assets above the amounts registered in the balance sheet, Hudson will have to charge a percentage to Novo Banco, a way for Lone Star to recover part of the investment in the bank when it took over.
The assets in question include some considered problematic because they are difficult to monetize or sell, which have already justified the register of impairments that have resulted in losses to the bank, offset by public money. Others will have more potential, such as the Novo Banco’s headquarters building, on the corner of Avenida da Liberdade and Rua Barata Salgueiro in Lisbon, appreciated at €40 million, according to the same source.