New York-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management has bought the £4.5 bn (€5.4 bn) Project Eagle loan portfolio from Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency in the largest single transaction by NAMA to date.
New York-based private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management has bought the £4.5 bn (€5.4 bn) Project Eagle loan portfolio from Ireland’s National Asset Management Agency in the largest single transaction by NAMA to date.
The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The portfolio consists of loans owned by Northern Ireland-based debtors and secured by assets in Northern Ireland, the Republic, Great Britain and other European locations.
NAMA said the sale followed an 'extensive and competitive' bidding process involving players from Europe and the US. The agency was advised on the transaction by Lazard.
Commenting on the transaction, NAMA chairman, Frank Daly, and NAMA CEO, Brendan McDonagh, said: ‘This transaction represents a significant achievement for NAMA. It is NAMA’s biggest single transaction to date and we are satisfied that the sales process will deliver the best possible result for the Irish taxpayer.’
John Snow, chairman of Cerberus Capital Management, said: ‘This investment, and the underlying assets in Ireland and other European markets, will be an important foundation for our overall European strategy. Cerberus is a patient, long-term investor and has a well-established track record of making significant improvements to the assets that it manages.’
The news comes just days after accountancy firm KPMG announced it had sold almost all the loans of 'bad bank' Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC) with a total face value of €21.7 bn. Lone Star, CarVal, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Oaktree Capital Management, Sankaty and Apollo are among the buyers.