The court has announced a ruling today, rejecting the appeal filed by P. River Birch Ltd. and River Birch March Fund Lp., while granting the request made by the Resolution Fund and Banco de Portugal to expand their appeal. Consequently, the Resolution Fund and Banco de Portugal have been absolved of all claims.
The court’s decision is based on the recognition of a procedural delay concerning the challenge to the eligibility criteria for submitting acquisition proposals for Novo Banco. The two organizations failed to submit any proposals or challenge the procedural documents while the process was ongoing.
Novo Banco was established in 2014 to take over part of Banco Espírito Santo’s operations during its resolution. In 2017, a 75% stake in the bank was sold to the U.S. investment fund Lone Star.
Due to this inability to challenge documents or present proposals, the ruling confirmed a lack of standing in the remaining claims, noting it was clear that P. River Birch Ltd. and River Birch March Fund Lp. had no interest in disputing the validity of the bank’s sale conditions or its adjudication to Lone Star.
The court adhered to its established jurisprudence, as well as that of the European Union Court of Justice, which states that a competitor has no legal standing if they can no longer secure the award of the contract for which they competed.
P. River Birch Ltd. and River Birch March Fund Lp. appealed to this Supreme Administrative Court from the decision of the South Central Administrative Court dated July 11, 2024. This previous court had rejected the appeal against the Lisbon Administrative Court’s verdict on October 27, 2017, which had already dismissed their action against the Resolution Fund and Banco de Portugal concerning the strategic sale procedures of Novo Banco.
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