Irish govt plans to sell stake in Bank of Ireland

Bloomberg

The Irish government plans to sell part of its 676 million euro ($807 million) stake in Bank of Ireland group over the next six months or so, the latest stage in its bid to
recoup the bank bailout that almost bankrupted the
nation.
Part of Ireland’s 13.9% shareholding in the bank will be sold through a pre-arranged trading plan that will be managed by Citigroup, Ireland’s finance ministry said in a statement.
Up to 15% of the expected aggregate total trading volume in the company is to be sold over the duration of the trading plan and there will be a minimum share price for those sold. No further details were disclosed.
”The announcement marks the start of a phased exit from the State’s remaining investment in Bank of Ireland,” Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said. “When all cashflows are taken into account the taxpayer has already recorded a surplus on its investment in and support for the bank, even before
the sales of these shares are accounted for.”
The state remains a key player in the Irish financial sector, holding majority stakes in AIB Group Plc and Permanent TSB Group Holdings Plc and the minority holding in Bank of Ireland after bailouts during the financial crisis. Overall the state injected about 64 billion euros into Ireland’s banks. About half of that was spent on the former Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Nationwide, both of which were since wound down.
The government will likely still hold a stake in Bank of Ireland after the six-month sale period, Donohoe told RTE Radio. He declined to say how many shares the government intends to sell.
“Over time, I do aim to be in a position that we are no longer a shareholder in the bank but that is the medium-term objective,” he added.
The state could sell about two thirds of its holding over the next six months, Goodbody analyst Eamonn Hughes said in a research note. “The stake sale must be seen as an important step in the normalisation of the domestic banking system,” he said.
The sale may “change the narrative” on a bonus ban and pay cap at Ireland’s bailed out banks, Hughes said, while reducing investor concerns around potential political interference in the Irish banking system.