BoI close to raising €600m through share placement

Bank of Ireland is close to raising €500m to €600m through a share placement in order to part refinance the Government’s €1.8bn preference shares that have to be redeemed by the end of next March, according to sources.

If the preference shares are not redeemed before Mar 31, then there is a “step up” clause that would see the value of the Government’s preference shares increase by 25% to €2.25bn.

There has been intense speculation over the past few weeks that the bank was about to launch an imminent rights issue or share placement.