PTSB takeover wins 91.3% investor support in key vote

PTSB secured backing from 91.3 per cent of shareholders who voted on its planned €1.62 billion takeover by Austrian banking group, Bawag at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) on Thursday. Uncertainty remains nevertheless over whether a separate count of minority shareholders will be required to approve the deal after the Government’s majority stake drove the overall result. The takeover needed support from at least 75 per cent of shareholders who voted to go through as a so-called scheme of arrangement overseen by the High Court. The Government owns 57.5 per cent of the bank, following its crisis-era bailout. The High Court said in May that it could decide at a later date whether a separate count of minority shareholders was needed, after it rejected a petition from three small investors – led by long-time dissident shareholder Piotr Skoczylas – to have this established before the EGM. READ MOREWhile the €2.97-a-share deal was approved by most minorities, it is not immediately clear if it secured 75 per cent backing from that group of investors. The bank is said to have robust legal advice that only one vote is necessary.