Agla Eir Vilhjálmsdóttir

On 13 May 2025, the Icelandic government launched a public share offering for a 20% stake in Íslandsbanki, marking the final phase of the bank’s privatisation and the largest share offering in Iceland’s history. The offering closed on 15 May, raising ISK 90.5 billion, with total demand reaching ISK 190 billion.

Public participation was unprecedented, and the offering was upsized to meet demand. Over 31,000 retail investors contributed ISK 88.2 billion through Offer Book A, which was exclusively designated for individuals. These retail investors received full priority allocation without any reductions and represented approximately 97.4% of the total offering value. The privatisation is the largest in Icelandic history and the total privatisation proceeds reached ISK 224.7 billion, taking int account the 35% sold in June 2021 for ISK 55.3 billion, 22.5% sold in March 2022 for ISK 52.7 billion.

The firm advised on negotiations with the managers of the sale, drafting of the prospectus and other documents, as well as related legal advice.

The firm extends its congratulations to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs on this highly successful and historic public offering and expresses its sincere thanks for an excellent collaboration, as well as to Íslandsbanki, Landsbankinn, and Milbank LLP.