Fairfax to keep rest of Bank of Ireland stock after sale

By Laura Noonan LONDON (Reuters) - Fairfax Financial has no intention of offloading any further stock in Bank of Ireland following the sale of part of its holding on Tuesday, chief executive Prem Watsa told Reuters. Fairfax and Wilbur Ross began selling a combined 6.4 percent stake in the country's largest lender earlier on Tuesday, the placing's bookrunner Deutsche Bank said. "Bank of Ireland has been one of our most successful investments. Because of the significant appreciation we are rebalancing our position. The position had become very significant (in terms of our overall portfolio)," Watsa said. "We remain strong supporters of (chief executive) Richie Boucher and Bank of Ireland... Bank of Ireland will benefit from the ongoing recovery of Ireland and we have no intention to sell any more of our stake. We are long-term investors." The shares were being sold at a guided price of around 0.33 euros, a discount of up to 10 percent on Monday's closing share price, a source familiar with the transaction said, adding that the book had been covered by 1145 GMT. Fairfax were among a group of North American investors who kept the bank out of state hands in 2011 when they bought a 35 percent stake at 10 cents a share only months after Ireland signed up to an EU/IMF bailout. Watsa said the value of Fairfax's shareholding rose from its initial 340 million euros to over 1 billion. He declined to say what the Bank of Ireland proceeds would be invested in, pointing out that Fairfax holds 8 billion in cash. He also declined to comment on the market impact of the ongoing situation in the Ukraine, adding that Fairfax's annual report on Friday would give the firm's views. (Writing by Padraic Halpin. Editing by Carmel Crimmins)