A group of institutional investors has agreed to buy up to €1.1bn ($1.6bn) of Bank of Ireland shares in a move that will save the troubled lender from government control.
The day before Bank of Ireland was due to complete a €1.9bn rights issue that could have pushed the government stake up to almost 70 per cent, the Irish finance minister announced the details of a private placing for at least 14 per cent of the stock.
The investors, who will not be identified until they make formal stock exchange disclosures, are understood to include a large Canadian fund manager and a number of US investment firms. In total the deal involves fewer than 10 groups, all based outside Ireland, according to people familiar with the process.