Possible client approach for capitalisation

THE DEUTSCHE Bank-advised investment group, composed mostly of existing shareholders in the Irish banks, is examining whether to approach the private clients of stockbrokers and financial institutions to see if they would be interested in co-investing in the recapitalisation of the banks.

The group, which is being advised by a Deutsche Bank team led by Irishman Tadhg Flood and is being driven by a group of existing Irish bank shareholders, is keen to attract high net-worth individuals to join them in co-investing in injecting fresh capital into the banks.

The consortium of investment and fund managers, which was set up to rival the private equity firms eyeing up investments in the banks, is likely to seek meetings with the private client divisions of stockbrokers and financial institutions to gauge the level of interest in a co-investment involving their wealthy clients.

The investment group, which includes Irish Life Investment Managers, AIB Investment Managers and Bank of Ireland Asset Management, is believed to be seeking a meeting with the Government to outline further its plans to invest in the banks.

It is estimated that the group can raise about €2 billion, which it believes could be matched by the Government, creating a significant fund to inject capital into the banks.

It is also trying to enlist international investment and fund companies to enlarge the potential pool of capital that the consortium could invest.

The investment group outlined, in a meeting last Tuesday with pension fund trustees and advisers from the Irish Association of Pension Funds, that it intended to assess "whether an opportunity exists for domestic and international investors to participate in any potentially attractive recapitalisation investment opportunity".