61. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if he will confirm the Government received a non-binding proposal (details supplied) in August 2025 separate to the 5 September 2025 offer and to outline the details of same; to clarify the reason the August proposal was concluded to have amounted to an offer. [52054/26]

On 5 September 2025, the Department received a non-binding and indicative proposal in writing from Centerbridge to acquire the Minister's stake in PTSB, dated 4 September 2025. The Department was of the view that the indicative proposal undervalued the Minister’s stake in PTSB and informed PTSB of its decision to reject the proposal. Following internal governance, the Department advised Centerbridge that the proposal did not provide a basis for engagement. The Department was and is cognisant of its legal and regulatory obligations and received financial and legal advice, including with regard to the Irish Takeover Rules. I have been informed this is the only non-binding and indicative proposal received by the Department in writing from Centerbridge.

As the Deputy is aware, the board of PTSB launched a Formal Sale Process (FSP) on 30 October 2025 which was public and open to all bona fide strategic and financial investors and was conducted by PTSB in accordance with the Irish Takeover Rules. Centerbridge were one of the parties in the FSP. The Department believes that the process was fair and transparent and offered the greatest opportunity to canvas broad interest from potential bidders.

The FSP resulted in the board of PTSB recommending a cash offer from BAWAG Group AG (BAWAG) to shareholders at a price significantly in excess of the indicative price set out in the Centrebridge proposal dated 4 September 2025.

BAWAG has set out a long term ownership approach, including maintaining a strong and resilient Irish banking franchise, investing in the business, retaining the headquarters in Dublin, a branch footprint, and safeguarding existing employment rights and pension arrangements in line with applicable law.

BAWAG has also indicated its intention to leverage its broader European expertise to strengthen the bank’s competitiveness, including in areas such as SME banking, energy efficiency finance, and operational integration. These stated intentions formed part of the overall assessment of the bid.

The State's investment in PTSB was made during the financial crisis to safeguard the stability of the banking system and protect depositors. Since then, PTSB has returned to profitability, increased its balance sheet scale and strengthened its capital ratios.

A sale of the State’s investment is consistent with the objectives of recovering taxpayer funds that were used to rescue the Irish banks. Through a combination of fees, dividend income, the bank levy and disposal proceeds the State has recovered c. €4.0bn from its investment in PTSB. On an overall basis, this means the State is c. €1.3 bn above break-even on its €29.4 billion investment in AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB from direct shareholding linked income and has recovered a further c. €1.8bn from the banking sector since the introduction of the bank levy.