DUBLIN, April 8 (Reuters) - Irish Life & Permanent has pulled a bid to acquire AIB Investment Managers (AIBIM), after stress tests revealed Irish Life needed to raise 4 billion euros ($5.7 billion) additional capital, the bancassurer said.
Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM), the group's asset management arm, had been chosen as preferred bidder for the subsidiary of state-owned Allied Irish Banks and was expected to pay 20-25 million euros for its rival, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters.
A spokesman for the group, which is set to fall under full state ownership having previously been the only domestic lender to avoid a bailout, said it was concentrating on other transactions, including the sales of its prized insurance arm.
'The group has decided not to proceed with it at this time because of the very busy corporate agenda over the next couple months and that's where our priority and focus is,' the spokesman told Reuters.
Ireland's central bank told Irish Life & Permanent to raise 4 billion euros as part of fresh stress tests that showed the country's four remaining lenders needed to recapitalise to the tune of 24 billion euros.
ILIM is Ireland's biggest fund manager with assets of 32 billion euros under management and is about three times the size of AIBIM which Allied Irish Banks was ordered to sell last year under a restructuring agreement with the European Commission.
AIB needs to raise another 13.3 billion euros after the latest stress tests and is also required to reduce its balance sheet by 19.4 billion euros as part of a huge sector-wide deleveraging process announced last week.
Swiss asset manager Bellevue Group and Irish stockbroking firm Bloxham were among the bidders for AIBIM and may now renew their interest in the business, the Irish Times reported on Friday.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
($1 = 0.6996 euro) Keywords: IRISHLIFE/ (padraic.halpin@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: padraic.halpin.reuters.com@reuters.net; +353 1 500 1504) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM), the group's asset management arm, had been chosen as preferred bidder for the subsidiary of state-owned Allied Irish Banks and was expected to pay 20-25 million euros for its rival, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters.
A spokesman for the group, which is set to fall under full state ownership having previously been the only domestic lender to avoid a bailout, said it was concentrating on other transactions, including the sales of its prized insurance arm.
'The group has decided not to proceed with it at this time because of the very busy corporate agenda over the next couple months and that's where our priority and focus is,' the spokesman told Reuters.
Ireland's central bank told Irish Life & Permanent to raise 4 billion euros as part of fresh stress tests that showed the country's four remaining lenders needed to recapitalise to the tune of 24 billion euros.
ILIM is Ireland's biggest fund manager with assets of 32 billion euros under management and is about three times the size of AIBIM which Allied Irish Banks was ordered to sell last year under a restructuring agreement with the European Commission.
AIB needs to raise another 13.3 billion euros after the latest stress tests and is also required to reduce its balance sheet by 19.4 billion euros as part of a huge sector-wide deleveraging process announced last week.
Swiss asset manager Bellevue Group and Irish stockbroking firm Bloxham were among the bidders for AIBIM and may now renew their interest in the business, the Irish Times reported on Friday.
(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)
($1 = 0.6996 euro) Keywords: IRISHLIFE/ (padraic.halpin@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: padraic.halpin.reuters.com@reuters.net; +353 1 500 1504) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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