Bank of Ireland has taken a prime role in the refinancing of Bernard Matthews, the struggling British turkey business that was blighted by avian flu this year.
A subsidiary of the bank called Burdale Financial, which provides asset-based lending, is understood to have secured significant loans to the business against its 56 farms, plant and livestock.
Burdale was supported in the transaction by a syndicate of international lenders.
A spokesman for Bernard Matthews acknowledged Burdale's involvement in the refinancing, but he declined to provide a valuation on the deal. Bank of Ireland declined to comment.
Established in 1950, the privately-held business produces more than seven million turkeys per year in Britain. Bernard Matthews, owner of the business, has lost tens of millions of pounds from his personal fortune as a result of the flu crisis.
Mr Mathews's organisation boasted an annual turnover of £400 million (€593.69 million) before its business was struck by the outbreak of avian flu last February.
Some 160,000 birds were slaughtered after the H5NI virus was discovered in an attempt to prevent a mass outbreak.
The company was blamed for importing the virus into Britain from one of its farms in Hungary.
However, a British government report into the affair proved inconclusive.
Following the cull, the company received £600,00 in compensation from the British government for the loss of stock.
Sales of fresh and frozen turkeys collapsed after the outbreak, leading to severe pressure on the finances of the company.
The business has been consulting with its 6,000 staff on redundancies. It has introduced a pay freeze and stopped recruitment.
While Burdale has not taken equity in Bernard Matthews, it has the power to closely monitor the management of the business.
Mr Matthews established the business with 20 turkey eggs and a second-hand incubator. The business was floated in the 1970s, and Mr Matthews's family took it private in 2001.
Acquired by Bank of Ireland from Wachovia in 2005, Burdale's best known refinancing was the £150 million rescue last year of British furniture group MFI.
Earlier this year, the company refinanced the china and glassware company Royal Worcester & Spode to the tune of £16 million.
