Portugal's Banco Espirito Santo buys into stockbroker Execution Noble

Portuguese lender Banco Espirito Santo said it had bought a majority stake in British stockbroker Execution Noble in an effort to boost its presence in investment banking.

BES, Portugal's second-biggest listed bank, said on Monday its investment banking division had agreed to buy a 50.1% chunk of Execution Noble without disclosing how much it paid.

BES said the deal would create a new business with a strong presence in Brazil and India, offering a broad range of investment banking services.

"This acquisition establishes our ambition of becoming a key international investment banking player," said Jose Maria Espirito Santo Ricciardi, the chief executive of BES' investment banking unit.

Privately-owned Execution Noble was created in December last year after stockbroker Execution bought small-cap focused investment bank Noble Group.