AIB sale of stake in bank delayed

AIB is still expected to conclude a deal on the disposal of its 23% stake in New York-based lender M&T Bank in the near future despite reports suggesting merger talks between M&T and Spanish group Santander have broken down.

Santander, which snapped up AIB’s Polish operations for about €3.1 billion, seemed, up until Sunday, to be closing in on a merger with M&T, via US division Sovereign Bank, which would involve the Spanish group acquiring AIB’s stake for about €1.2bn.

However, weekend reports from the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg suggested Santander rejected a deal to give it a majority stake in the merged entity but day-to-day control to M&T.