CaixaBank SA'splanned takeover of Banco BPI SAhit another hurdle after a shareholder blocked a vote on a proposal to lift a20% cap on the bank's voting rights, Reuters reported July 22.

Portuguese shareholder Violas Ferreira, who holds a 2.7%stake in the bank, presented a legal injunction at a July 22 shareholders'meeting, delaying the vote for 45 days, according to the report.Chairman Artur Santos Silva said the issue that led to the delay can beresolved by July 26.

CaixaBank, which already owns about 44% of Banco BPI, inApril made a cash offerof €1.113 per Banco BPI share that it does not own, subject to the eliminationof the voting cap. Isabel dos Santos, an Angolan businesswoman,has used the cap to thwart CaixaBank's takeover bid, which she opposes.

A Portuguese government decree issued earlier in the yearwould have allowed CaixaBank to vote its entire stake in favor of lifting thecap, providing much of the two-thirds support needed for the measure to beapproved, Reuters noted.