Investment banks to advise Government to proceed with AIB announcement

Investment bankers working the State's planned sale of a 25 per cent stake in AIB are set to advise Government officials this afternoon to proceed with an announcement of the long-awaited flotation on Wednesday morning, according to sources.

The Minister for Finance Michael Noonan planned to alert Cabinet colleagues on Tuesday that he was preparing to decide imminently on whether to press ahead with the initial public offering (IPO). He said on Monday that a decision would have to be made within 10 days , before the summer lull in markets.

However, any final decision on whether to proceed with a so-called intention to float announcement on Wednesday will not be taken until this afternoon or evening, after Department of Finance officials have taken a final briefing from bankers that will lead the transaction for the State, according to the sources.

A spokesman for the Department of Finance declined to comment, while a spokeswoman for AIB, which is 99.8 per cent State owned, said the timing of any IPO announcement “is entirely a matter for the minister”.

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Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Davy and Deutsche Bank are the lead bankers working on the deal for the Government, helped by Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Goodbody Stockbrokers, JP Morgan and UBS. Investec Bank is also involved.

Marketing of the transaction, which is expected to raise up to €3 billion, will take about four weeks. A small percentage of the shares on offer – expected to be between 10 per cent and 15 per cent – will be assigned to small, or retail investors. However, they will have to have a minimum of €10,000 to invest and have an account with a stockbroking firm.