PTSB said today that it is entirely satisfied that the recommended offer from BAWAG was at a higher value than that of other bidders following a full and broadly marketed process in which a number of bidders, including US private-equity firm Centerbridge, fully participated.
PTSB agreed in April to be sold to Austria’s BAWAG Group for €1.6 billion, with the Government agreeing to sell its stake of 57.5% in the bank for €931m.
Today’s statement came after it emerged that US private equity firm Centrebridge had submitted a bid for the State’s stake in the bank before it began to seek a buyer last year
In the statement today, the bank’s CEO Eamonn Crowley said that he “did not intend to suggest” last October, when the bank was first put up for sale, that there had been no interest in the Government’s stake beforehand.
Mr Crowley said on a call with analysts on October 30 that he was not aware of the Government receiving any bid approach.
“We answered a lot of questions on that call but in respect of that matter, my answer was intended to convey that the Board’s decision to commence the formal sales process (FSP) was not made in response to an approach to the Government and that I was not aware of any approach that the Department was willing to engage on or pursue,” he said.
“Second, that I was not aware of any approach within the meaning of the Takeover Rules of which we were hugely mindful as the Board prepared for and launched the FSP,” he added.
“I did not intend to suggest that there had been no interest in the Minister’s shares or engagements with the Department at all over previous months in respect of their shareholding,” he stated.
“In further answers on the same analyst call that day, I did state clearly that the company was aware of ongoing interest in the company more generally,” he said.
The PTSB CEO said it important to remember that the sales process for the bank was widely marketed and that Centerbridge participated fully in it.
“The public and comprehensive nature of the FSP was intended to generate the highest deliverable price for the shareholders – and we believe that the FSP has achieved that. As announced on 14 April, it secured an offer considerably higher than the share price had been before the FSP began,” he added.
PTSB shares were higher in Dublin trade today.
