Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 May 2013
196. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 79 of 1 May 2013, if the increase in the State’s shareholding of the ordinary shares in Allied Irish Banks as a result of receiving the €280m dividend in kind rather than in cash, will affect the stock exchange listing status of AIB. [22372/13]
View answerAllied Irish Banks (AIB) announced on 24 April 2013 that the annual cash dividend of €280 million on the €3.5 billion 2009 Non Cumulative Preference Shares held by the National Pensions Reserve Fund Commission (NPRFC) on behalf of the Irish State, due 13 May 2013 will not be paid. As a result AIB becomes obliged to issue and allot ordinary shares to the NPRFC in accordance with the Bank’s Articles of Association. The number of Bonus Shares to be issued will be calculated by dividing the unpaid dividend amount of €280m on the 2009 Preference Shares by the average price on an ordinary share over the period of thirty days trading immediately preceding the annual dividend date. The final amount of Bonus Issue of ordinary shares will therefore be announced in due course. However as the Irish State, through the NPRFC already own 99.8% of the ordinary shares of AIB, the increase in ownership as a result of these new bonus shares is likely to be marginal.
The payment of the dividend in shares is not expected to have any effect on the stock exchange listing status of AIB.
