The Irish Department of Finance and the British NatWest Group announced on Friday that they have jointly sold 54.6 million shares in Permanent TSB, representing 10% of the Irish bank’s share capital.
The shareholders will receive nearly 110.5 million euros (121.64 million dollars) from the accelerated share placement, or 55.2 million euros each. They had initially intended to sell a combined 6% of the Irish bank.
The Irish state will retain 57.4% of PTSB, while NatWest will maintain an 11.7% stake.
The deal will “improve the bank’s liquidity and market interest as we continue preparations for a broader programme of disposals in the coming years,” said Irish Finance Minister Michael McGrath in a statement.
PTSB, the smallest of the three domestic banks that survived Ireland’s financial crash a decade ago, was effectively nationalized in 2011.
The Irish government reduced its stake from 99.2% to 75% through a share offering in 2015 but has not sold any shares in the bank since then.
NatWest acquired an almost 17% stake in the bank as part of PTSB’s recent acquisition of approximately 7.6 billion euros (8.37 billion dollars) in loans and assets from NatWest’s Irish unit Ulster Bank, which is withdrawing from the Irish market. This dilutes the Irish government’s stake to 62%.