Ryanair’s announcement early in the week that Citigroup had been appointed as joint broker to the company, alongside Davy, raised a few eyebrows in Government circles.
Citigroup was hired only a matter of weeks ago by New Era to advise the State agency on the global aviation sector in the context of the Government selling its 25 per cent stake in Aer Lingus. The mandate was thought to be worth less than €50,000 to Citigroup.
New Era operates under the umbrella of the National Treasury Management Agency and is mandated to assist in the valuation and sale of State assets.
Well-placed sources indicated that Citigroup’s work was “substantially completed” and only ever related to global aviation matters rather than anything specific to Aer Lingus.
On Tuesday, Citigroup’s head of Ireland banking said it was “looking forward to marketing Ryanair’s compelling investment case”.
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One man with a broad smile on his face at the announcement of Irish Life’s imminent sale to Great-West Lifeco was chairman Alan Cook.
Since the break up of the former Irish Life Permanent plc, Cook has been double-jobbing with the separated life and banking businesses. The sale of Irish Life means he will soon be able to focus exclusively on Permanent TSB, which is trying to reinvent itself as a retail bank and mortgage lender.
It should be pointed out that Cook has not been earning two salaries from these separate functions since ILP was broken up.
In the future, he won’t have to feel conflicted about whether he should spend his day at Permo’s base overlooking St Stephen’s Green or in Irish Life’s HQ on Abbey Street.
