A TOTAL OF 121 companies have been in touch with the National Asset Management Agency (NAMA) about forming joint ventures with the State’s bad bank.
NAMA put out a call for expressions of interest a month ago, with the body thought to be positioning itself to attract international investors to partner with it while Irish assets are popular among international investors.
The project portfolio held by NAMA is understood to be largely urban, and has attracted a lot of interest from international funds. More than half of all expressions of interest were from firms based in Britain, Europe and the US.
Potential investors were split into three groups depending on how much the projects they want to invest in will be worth when completed. The most popular asset class, attracting 75 enquiries, was for projects that would be worth between €20m and €50m.
Sixty-nine firms expressed an interest in projects between €50 million and €100 million, while 52 said they could go above the €100 million level.
NAMA has extended the deadline for expressions of interest indefinitely, and has not said when it will begin executing deals.
Chief executive Brendan McDonagh said:
This is a hugely encouraging response that is much stronger than we anticipated. The level and calibre of interest shown by credible counterparties in forming joint ventures with NAMA offers another signal of the very positive investor sentiment towards Ireland.
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