Rothschild has received €3.96 million for advising the Irish Government on the disposal of its stakes in AIB and Bank of Ireland since 2016. The advisory work covered AIB’s Initial Public Offering, trading plans for the two pillar banks, and a series of directed buyback transactions. Most of the cost was subsequently recouped from the banks themselves, according to figures released by the Department of Finance.

Legal advisory fees were also incurred, with William Fry receiving €573,000 over the past four years for counsel on AIB and PTSB matters, of which just over €470,000 can be recovered from the banks. Rothschild and William Fry have been appointed again to advise on the sale of PTSB, which was put up for sale last month.

The State fully exited its remaining AIB shareholding last month, having sold nearly 29% of the bank in 2017 through the IPO, which generated €3.4 billion for the Exchequer. Bank of Ireland was returned to full private ownership in September 2022.

The appointments followed competitive tender processes run by the Department of Finance. Rothschild sits on a panel of financial advisers for capital markets and mergers and acquisitions alongside Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Davy, Goodbody Stockbrokers, and Goldman Sachs. Legal advisers are similarly drawn from a panel including Arthur Cox, Eversheds Sutherland, Mason Hayes & Curran, and William Fry.

The total cost aligns with projections made by Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe in 2017, who estimated that fees for Rothschild, William Fry, and communications advisers Gordon MRM and Citigate Dewe Rogerson would amount to around €4 million.

Read the full story to see how Government advisory fees have supported the full exit from Ireland’s major bank shareholdings.