Anche BNP consiglia di accettare l'offerta di AIB
Allied Irish Seeks $5.2 Billion Bond Buyback
By
CHRIS V. NICHOLSON
Allied Irish Banks, effectively nationalized last month by Dublin,
said Thursday that it would make a tender offer for 3.9 billion euros worth of subordinated debt at a 70 percent discount to their face value.
The bank is attempting to reduce liabilities in a campaign to raise 6.1 billion euros before March, since the fresh funds are required under the recent bailout agreement that Ireland reached with the European Union and the IMF.
By buying back its own bonds at a discount, rather than paying back the principal in full at maturity, A.I.B. is able to book a capital gain that bolsters its capital ratio. The total amount that the bank gains from the transaction will depend upon the take-up on the part of debt holders.
The Irish government put 3.7 billion euros into A.I.B. last month, taking its stake to 49.9 percent, with that interest set to grow to 92.8 percent after the Irish bank divests its Polish unit.
The size of the government stake will not be affected the bond buyback or February fundraising.
The A.I.B. bond buyback differs significantly from a deleveraging move by Anglo Irish Bank, also under government control. Anglo proposed a deeper discount on bondholders, with a clause to pay them almost nothing if they did not approve.
“It is significant that a systemically important going concern bank has not pursued a coercive action, which should provide support to all the banks’ outstanding credit instruments,” said Stephen Lyon, at Davy Research in Dublin.
Ivan Zubo, an analyst at BNP Paribas in London, recommended that A.I.B. bondholders take the current offer, given the Irish government’s broad powers to impose a deeper discount if it wished.
“If they don’t accept now, they may see harsher terms in the future, especially if AIB needs to raise additional capital.” he said in an interview.
In a research note sent Thursday, he remarked that the tender offer is 3 to 5 basis points above where A.I.B. subordinated debt was trading on secondary markets prior to the offer, calling it a “positive surprise.”
The bank could book gains of up to 2.6 billion euros if all bondholders tender the debt, a significant step toward AIB’s total financing needs.
“We believe the fate of the holdouts will be dependent on how much capital is generated in this tender,” Mr. Zubo said in the note.
The dealer managers of A.I.B.’s offer are J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley.
Allied Irish Seeks $5.2 Billion Bond Buyback - NYTimes.com
