Stockbroker and corporate finance firm Merrion Capital has been bought by Icelandic bank Landsbanki in a deal which is initially worth €55m.
This is the second Nordic purchase of an Irish financial company in recent times - 11 months ago National Irish Bank and Northern Bank were bought by Denmark's Danske Bank.
The deal struck today is initially for 50% of Merrion. Over the next three years the Icelandic bank will gradually buy the other half of the company, with the price based on Merrion's future profits.
Merrion is a high profile independent Irish broker, which was involved in the Eircom flotation, the Government sale of ACCBank and the deal which took Jefferson Smurfit off the stock market.
Last week Merrion, along with international bank Goldman Sachs, won the competition to advise Aer Lingus on its planned flotation next year. Recently it also advised the Eircom ESOP in relation to the €420m acquisition of Meteor.
Merrion employs 75 people in Dublin. Up to now Merrion had been 70% owned by staff and 30% owned by New York based investment bank Allen & Company. The majority shareholding was in the hands of four or five directors, who stand to make the most from this deal. All senior management will stay with the firm.
Landsbanki has operations in 11 countries, and specialises in corporate and investment banking services.
