Portugal's PM: Sale of bank Novo Banco to U.S. fund not to affect tax payers

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LISBON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Friday that the sale of state-rescued Novo Banco to Lone Star of the United States will not have an impact on public accounts or on tax payers. A "balanced solution" had been reached, he said.X Nationalizing the bank would have entailed an injection of around 4 billion euros (4.26 billion U.S. dollars), while the sale meant the state would not have to pay anything at all, Costa told a press conference. "Novo Banco will continue to carry its role of financing the (Portuguese) economy," Costa said. Lone Star, a U.S. private fund, will acquire 75 percent of Novo Banco in exchange for a capital injection of 1 billion euros (1.06 billion dollars). Lone Star will first pay 750 million euros and the remaining 250 million euros will be disbursed by 2020.