Iceland completes Islandsbanki stake sale for over $700 million

Iceland Finalizes $702 Million Islandsbanki Stake Sale

COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -The Icelandic government said late on Thursday it had completed the sale of its 45.2% stake in Islandsbanki for 90.58 billion Icelandic crowns ($702.66 million), divesting a holding that was a legacy of the 2008 financial crisis.

Iceland on Tuesday launched the sale of a 20% stake in the lender in a process that prioritised domestic retail investors, and later expanded the offering to include its entire remaining stake in the bank due to high demand.

"The offering received significant institutional and substantial local demand, with considerable interest from both retail and institutional investors," the finance ministry said in a statement.

Shares were offered at a fixed price of 106.56 Icelandic crowns - or a 5% discount over the average price of the 15 trading days ahead of the sale launch - to retail investors.

Investor appetite substantially exceeded available shares, with total bids reaching 190 billion crowns, more than double the value of shares ultimately sold, the finance ministry.

The Icelandic government had acquired 75% of the bank during the 2008 financial crisis, which roiled the country's banking sector and plunged the economy into recession.

The government had sold part of its Islandsbanki stake in 2022.

($1 = 128.9100 Icelandic Crowns)

(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Stine Jacobsen and Terje Solsvik)