Ireland's Department of Finance launches institutional placing to sell around 5% of AIB and cut the State stake to about 12.5%

Ireland's Department of Finance announced that Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe intends to sell part of the Irish State’s shareholding in AIB Group plc through a placing to institutional investors, with the placing price to be set via an accelerated bookbuilding process. The placing is expected to comprise around 116 million ordinary shares, representing approximately 5% of AIB’s issued ordinary share capital, which would reduce the State’s overall stake from about 17.5% to about 12.5%. The Minister undertook not to sell further AIB shares for 90 calendar days after completion of the placing without prior written consent, with a shorter 30-day restriction applying to sales under the existing AIB share trading plan. The Department also extended that trading plan for a further six months, to terminate no later than 23 July 2025 once the applicable lock-up expires, with Merrill Lynch International continuing to manage the plan and with parameters including a cap of up to 15% of expected aggregate total trading volume and a floor preventing sales below a Department-determined fair value price. The exact number of placing shares and the placing price will be announced in due course.