State selling €396m worth of AIB shares, reducing stake to 57%

James Cox

The State is set to sell €396 million worth of AIB shares, which will reduce the national stake in the bank to 57 per cent down from 71 per cent.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe announced the "accelerated bookbuild (ABB) transaction", which will see the 134 million shares sold for €2.96 each.

Mr Donohoe said: "As I have previously stated, this Government believes that banking is an activity that should in the main be provided by the private sector and that taxpayer funds which were used to rescue the banks should be recovered and used for more productive purposes. As today’s news shows, we continue to make progress in achieving this goal."

The State has now entered into a “lock-up” period of approximately three months before another ABB can be considered, with a slightly reduced lock-up period of approximately two months for the now paused AIB trading plan.

"The State retains a 57% ownership position in AIB, and following the three month lock up period, will continue to assess additional opportunities for share sales as they arise," Mr Donohoe added.