Herdade da Comporta, once part of the Espírito Santo family holdings, will be sold to a consortium fronted by the Amorim family.
Gesfimo, the management entity for Herdade da Comporta, signed a promissory contract with the Amorim-Vanguard consortium, the company said in a statement released today.
"Gesfimo - Espírito Santo Irmãos Gestora de Investimentos Imobiliário, SA, as the managing entity of Herdade da Comporta - Fundo Especial de Investimento Imobiliário Fechado, hereby informs that it has signed with the consortium formed by Amorim Luxury SA and Port Noir Investments SARL [better known as Vanguard Properties], a promissory contract for the purchase and sale of assets that are part of the fund's assets, as part of a sale process advised by Deloitte," read the statement.
Gesfimo said that "the management company of the Fund will communicate to the Public Prosecution service and the Central Criminal Court, the terms of this agreement."
The Amorim-Vanguard consortium was the only bidder in the final round for the purchase of Herdade da Comporta which ended on September 20.
The buyer is a joint venture between Amorim Luxury, owned by Paula Amorim, and Vanguard Properties, controlled by the French millionaire, Claude Berda.
The Victor de Broglie and Global Asset Capital consortium pulled out and the Oakvest, Portugália and Sabina group already had announced that they were not going to go along with the terms of the final offer.
The sale has been a complicated process. The outcome of the May bidding was rejected at a general meeting in July 2018. At that meeting, proposals were blocked by the combined vote of Novo Banco and Rioforte.
The Oakvest, Portugália and Sabina group then threatened to assert "their legal rights," without detailing what measures it was considering.
Victor de Broglie and Global Asset Capital, stated that, in their view, there was "a lack of transparency and professionalism in the proceedings brought by Gesfimo and that the conditions for a fair procedure were not guaranteed, and they were objectively and materially prevented from presenting a new offer, following the one presented on May 4, 2018."
The sale of Herdade da Comporta, lying in the Council areas of Alcácer do Sal and Grândola, was decided on about three years ago, after the collapse of Grupo Espírito Santo.
Herdade da Comporta was sold to the British company The Atlantic Company in 1925 and bought in 1955 by the Espírito Santo family.
