A long-term dissident shareholder in PTSB, Scotchstone Capital, has become the latest party to say it is considering making an offer for the bank, weeks before the High Court is due to hold a sanctioning hearing on its takeover by Austria’s Bawag.
Scotchstone is led by Piotr Skoczylas and had pursued a series of cases in the Irish courts stemming from PTSB’s taxpayer bailout and effective nationalisation in 2011.
“There can be no certainty that any offer will be made or as to the terms on which any offer might be made,” the company said in a statement on Friday.
Skoczylas declined to comment when asked by The Irish Times about investment banking advisers and funding for a potential deal.
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The announcement comes seven days after a corporate finance firm cofounded by former Bank of Scotland (Ireland) chief executive Mark Duffy said it is considering a bid for PTSB, almost six months after the bank agreed to sell itself to Austria’s Bawag for €2.97 a share, or €1.62 billion in total.
[ Has Mark Duffy left it too late to spoil the PTSB party?Opens in new window ]
Axis Capital, which was set up in Dublin three years ago, said any possible offer would be in cash at a price of €3.20 per share – 7.7 per cent above the agreed price with Bawag.
However, the firm said that it has yet to line up funding for such an offer.
Both Skoczylas and Duffy were open critics of the Bawag deal.
Scotchstone launched proceedings in May in the High Court – which is ultimately overseeing the sale process, structured as a so-called scheme of arrangement – seeking a second vote on the deal by minority shareholders, excluding the Government. The State owns 57.5 per cent of PTSB and voted in favour of the Bawag transaction at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in July.
Judge Mark Sanfey said in the May court proceedings that the usual practice is for shareholder voting class composition to be decided at a High Court deal sanctioning hearing. That is due to take place on October 27th.
PTSB secured backing from 91.3 per cent of shareholders – led by the Government – for the Bawag takeover at the July EGM. However, some 36 per cent of minority investors voted against the transaction at the meeting.
PTSB has repeatedly said that it has “very strong” legal advice that only one vote is necessary.
