IRISH BANK Resolution Corporation (IBRC) has entered into exclusive talks with Dublin-based investment group Key Capital to offload “certain assets” of the wealth management business of the former Anglo Irish Bank.
The deal is subject to approval by the IBRC and assurance company boards and the consent of the Central Bank with final ratification by the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan.
IBRC said the “legal entities within the wealth management business” would not form part of the sale. The business has about €2.5 billion of the bank’s loans linked to deals. There are about 50 property funds in the wealth management business, some with several properties, which were sold through policies to Anglo customers via a separate regulated company called Anglo Irish Assurance Company.
IBRC said Key Capital was the preferred counterparty based on its “strategic fit for IBRC’s clients, its sound financial position and its strong operating platform in Ireland and the UK encompassing a broad product and service offering”.
“It also delivers an opportunity for IBRC to maximise investor returns and deliver value for the Irish taxpayer from the main operating platform, IBRC Assurance Company,” said Tom Hunersen, group executive of corporate and institutional recovery at IBRC.
Conor Killeen, Key Capital’s chief executive, said the deal would provide it with a “platform to grow an international real estate asset management business”.
He said it would also offer the wealth management clients of IBRC broader products and services that are available through Key Capital Private, its joint venture with Deutsche Bank.
