PTSB has confirmed the names of two of the main bidders still in the running to acquire the bank as part of the formal sale process announced last year.
Texan funds giant Lone Star and a consortium involving New York-based Centerbridge and San Francisco investment firm Sixth Street are “among the participants” in the bidding process, the bank said in a statement on Monday morning.
PTSB, more than 57 per cent of which is owned by the Government, said the announcement does not represent a “firm intention” by Lone Star or the consortium to make a formalised offer for the bank.
“There can be no certainty that any offers will be made, that any sale or other transaction will be concluded, nor as to the terms on which any offer or other transaction may be made,” it said.
READ MORE
However, the announcement confirms details reported by The Irish Times about the identities of the bidders.
Lone Star’s record in the sector includes the Portuguese lender Novobanco, which it sold in 2025 for €6.4 billion, having bought it from the Portuguese government in 2017 for €1 billion.
Irish passport holder, John Grayken, leads the Texas-based private equity giant.
Centerbridge’s track record of banking acquisitions includes German lender Aareal, which it bought in 2023, cutting staff by more than half a year later. However, much of this was attributed to the sale of its software business.
Earlier this month, PTSB also confirmed that Austrian banking group Bawag is in the conversation to buy the Irish lender.
Bawag bought Irish mortgages start-up Moco in 2023 and was reported last month to be in exclusive talks to buy Finance Ireland, a non-bank provider of car, commercial property, agri- and small-business loans, for as much as €300 million.
However, earlier this month, it was announced that those negotiations had concluded without a deal.
It also bought what remained of Dublin-based Depfa Bank from a German state bad bank in 2021 as that lender was in the process of being wound down.
In a broker note issued on Monday, Denis McGoldrick, head of financial research at Goodbody Stockbrokers, said Bawag was seen by “some stakeholders” as the “preferable buyer due to its established banking model and low-cost base”.
However, the €1.6 billion Bawag has reportedly offered to acquire PTSB’s shares, would represent a “disappointing” 20 per cent discount to the bank’s book value, he said.
“As we have noted previously, the presence of Bawag alongside private equity bidders is constructive, as a strategic buyer with a proven low-cost banking model offers greater long-term stability and reduces execution and political risk, McGoldrick said.
“However, at a reported €1.6 billion, the bid looks opportunistic rather than compelling, and we would view any transaction at a material discount to book value as value dilutive unless accompanied by clear, credible upside on capital return or strategic certainty.”
