VENTURE CAPITAL POST

Goldman Sachs Group Inc had to write down its loan to the troubled Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo SA in the fourth quarter, cutting the bank's profit and some employees' bonuses, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC (APO.N) is considering making a bid for Portuguese lender Novo Banco SA, the bank carved out of Banco Espirito Santo SA (BES) (BES.LS), Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Chinese financial firms are targeting purchases of distressed banking assets coming on the market in Europe, having been urged by Beijing to expand their reach beyond emerging markets.

Portugal has begun sounding out Spanish banks on their interest in buying Novo Banco, the successor to the state-rescued Banco Espirito Santo (BES), several sources familiar with the talks said on Tuesday.

Shareholders of Portugal Telecom (PTC.LS) and Brazil's Oi (OIBR3.SA) on Monday approved the revised terms of a merger after a failed debt investment forced the Portuguese company to accept less favorable terms in the tie-up.

On June 9, with his 150-year-old Portuguese corporate dynasty close to collapse, patriarch Ricardo Espirito Santo Salgado made a desperate attempt to save it.