AIB Group PLC on Wednesday said the reduction of the Irish government’s stake in the bank below 50% represents a ‘normalisation of the share register’ and a ‘significant milestone’.

The Irish Department of Finance late Tuesday announced plans to cut its stake in AIB by a further 5.0%, taking its holding below 50% for the time since the bank was bailed out in 2009 in the wake of the financial crisis.

Early Wednesday, Goldman Sachs International confirmed that it, with fellow bookrunners BofA Securities and Goodbody Stockbrokers, placed 132.0 million shares at €3.64 each, raising €480.5 million in gross proceeds for the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund.

Shares in AIB were down 0.8% at 325.50 pence each in London early Wednesday. It has a market capitalisation of €9.59 billion.

This placing reduced the size of the Irish state’s holding in AIB to 1.23 billion shares, a 46.9% stake, from 1.36 billion, or 51.9%.

Net proceeds from the latest phase of the AIB share trading plan put in place by the Irish government are about €412 million, taking the total raised since the trading plan became operational in January 2022 to €698 million.

Dublin has pledged not to sell further shares in AIB for the next 90 days. Minister for Finance Michael McGrath agreed to extend the AIB share trading plan for a further six-month term to January 23, 2024.

The Irish government stepped in to buy a stake in AIB in 2009 amid the global financial crisis. The state pumped a total of €29.4 billion into AIB, Bank of Ireland Group PLC, and Permanent TSB Group Holdings PLC over 2009 to 2011.

‘AIB owes the Irish taxpayer an immense debt of gratitude for its support during the financial crisis,’ Chief Executive Officer Colin Hunt said.

‘We remain focused on our strategy to grow and strengthen the group to ensure we continue to support our customers and generate sustainable returns for all our shareholders.’

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