BAWAG has agreed to purchase Permanent TSB Group Holdings (PTSB) in a cash transaction valued at about €1.62bn ($1.9bn).
The offer is for all issued and to be issued shares in PTSB at €2.97 each.
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Ireland’s Minister for Finance owns about 57.5% of PTSB, and the government intends to back the transaction.
The PTSB board has also supported the deal.
Completion of the deal depends on several conditions, including approval from the required majority of PTSB shareholders, regulatory and other clearances, and approval by the Irish High Court.
PTSB has around 1.3 million customers and has mainly operated as a mortgage lender, alongside retail banking services delivered through a nationwide branch network.
At the end of 2025, its balance sheet stood at €30.5bn, including €22.2bn in customer loans and €24bn in retail deposits.
BAWAG Group operates across Europe and the US and serves more than four million customers. It has been present in Ireland since 2015 and introduced its MoCo mortgage and deposit platform in 2023.
Following the acquisition, BAWAG’s balance sheet is set to exceed €100bn in assets, with more than five million customers across seven countries and activities spanning retail and SME banking, as well as corporate, commercial real estate and public sector lending.
The transaction would mark the Irish government’s exit from its last remaining bank stake dating from the financial crisis.
The sale would leave the government with a loss of €300m on the €4bn bailout provided to PTSB in 2011, reported Reuters citing a finance ministry spokesperson
The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026 or the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals, the news agency added.
BAWAG Group CEO Anas Abuzaakouk commented: “Building on our presence in Ireland since 2015 and the establishment of our retail business with MoCo in 2023, the proposed acquisition represents a highly strategic opportunity to strengthen our competitive positioning by bringing together PTSB’s local market expertise and commitment to community banking with the balance sheet strength, scale, and operational capabilities of BAWAG Group.
“We are well positioned to drive competition through investment and innovation, supporting PTSB’s customers and, more broadly, the Irish economy, while delivering long-term, sustainable growth.”
