PERMANENT TSB CONSIDERS RAISING €500m FROM INVESTORS - Permanent TSB is considering raising about €500 million from external investors with a view to then repaying the State's €400 million in convertible contingent capital notes, or CoCos as they are better known.
The Irish Times has learned that buoyed by strong interest from international investors during recent roadshows, Permanent TSB is now looking at raising about €500 million, having previously been expected to raise between €300 million and €400 million. This could involve a stake of between 30-40% being sold to the external investors. The CoCos carry an annual coupon of 10% and can be converted into ordinary shares on their maturity on July 28th 2016. It is understood that private investors would be keen for these to be dealt with at the same time as their capital investment in the bank. PTSB is being advised by Deutsche Bank on its capital raising plan while the department of finance has engaged JP Morgan. Financing the CoCos would represent the first repayment by PTSB of its net €2.7 billion bailout by the State in 2011.
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JOBS IN DANGER AS LADBROKES LOOKS AT DRASTIC ACTION FOR IRISH ARM - The Irish arm of betting chain Ladbrokes could see job losses after the British bookmaker confirmed it is looking at "drastic action" as part of an urgent review of its loss-making business here. UK-based Ladbrokes has 196 outlets in Ireland, but has failed to return those shops to overall profitability. Ladbrokes, which employs about 1,000 people here and controls about 20% of the retail betting market, said yesterday that it has engaged a team to undertake a "fundamental review" of its Republic of Ireland business to "establish options to take this business forward". A spokesman told the Irish Independent the review is likely to be completed within weeks and followed by "drastic action". Asked whether Ladbrokes remains committed in the long term to the Irish market and whether staff should be fearful for their jobs, he said the bookie will "look at all options". "The team will be looking at what urgent action it can take," he added. The spokesman said that in the past, the Irish business had performed well. However, he said a decision to integrate its operations here with those in the UK hasn't worked out.
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IRISH FIRM TO BUILD €2 BILLION WINDFARM OFF SCOTLAND - Irish wind and solar energy company, Mainstream Renewable Power is set to develop a €2 billion windfarm off the Scottish coast. The company, founded by Eddie O'Connor and Fintan Whelan in 2008 after selling Airtricity to SSE and E.on, yesterday secured a 15-year contract for its 450mw Neart na Gaoithe facility in the North Sea. The windfarm, awarded planning consent in October 2014, is expected to be fully commissioned and generating electricity by 2020, writes the Irish Examiner. "Mainstream is delighted to have been awarded this contract today and we look forward to getting the windfarm construction-ready over the coming months in partnership with Siemens and GeoSea," said Mainstream chief operating officer Andy Kinsella. "What's unique about this project is that it will be the first time a UK offshore windfarm of this scale will be built using project finance alone. Today's announcement is the result of seven years of dedication and demonstrates Mainstream's world-class expertise in project development, engineering and finance." The windfarm will have the capacity to meet the energy needs of the whole of Edinburgh and then some, or 325,000 homes. In total, it will provide just under 4% of the total electricity demand in Scotland.
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BANK OF ENGLAND ENDS CITY 'FIRESIDE CHATS' AS FOREX SCANDAL SHARPENS CALL FOR TRANSPARENCY - The Bank of England has officially called time on the days when a raise of the governor's eyebrows sufficed to influence banks' behaviour. The central bank's move to improve transparency is part of an overhaul of how it interacts with the City of London following its embroilment in the foreign-exchange rigging scandal. The days when 'constructive ambiguity' was seen as a helpful foil for central bankers are behind us," Minouche Shafik, the BoE's deputy governor for markets and banking, said in a speech on Thursday evening. "Governors' eyebrows and fireside chats are no match for a clearly communicated framework in which information will be gathered and decisions made." Her comments follow pledges by the Bank of England on Thursday to improve the way it collects so-called market intelligence after criticism from one of London's most senior barristers. Lord Grabiner QC, who was appointed to investigate whether any BoE official knew of attempts by forex traders to manipulate the market, said in a November report that the controls over how the BoE gathered market intelligence were still inadequate.
