Legal bid to stop sale of Irish Life to minister opens

The proposed €1.3bn sale of Irish Life and Permanent’s life assurance business, the Irish Life Group, to the Minister for Finance undervalues the company’s “crown jewels”, it was claimed before the High Court yesterday.

Mr Justice Michael Peart has begun hearing a challenge by some Irish Life shareholders aimed at quashing a direction order for the purchase of Irish Life granted by the High Court last March to the Finance Minister Michael Noonan under Section 9 of the Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act 2010.

The Government owns more than 99.5% of Irish Life & Permanent (IL&P) after injecting €2.7bn into the company in Jul 2011.