Value of ESOP Shares

Hello 00sully,

Thanks for your reply. It is likely that I too will be moving into the Forced Sellers category by the end of the year. The amazing thing is that nobody seems to have a clue about what will happen with these ESOP shares on market day. Maybe that should not be a big surprise since the people who run the country haven’t a clue about what they’re doing from day to day.

I would imagine that the ESB ESOP model is based on something that is tried and tested elsewhere so there must be some historical data that could be used to try and make a reasonable guess about the likely market value of the shares. I cannot find anything useful on the net but maybe that there are people on this forum who have access to such data.

In my opinion ESB will without a doubt be privatised because the gob-****es in Kildare Street would sell their own mothers if the price was right or if the Troika said it was a good idea. However, the sale probably won’t happen for a while yet for several reasons:

• Few would want to pay a fair market value for the company with money being so scarce around the world.
• The Labour Party shower has to pretend that they’re looking after the interests of the unfortunates who elected them.
• ESB are going to try and bring down the earnings of their employees to the same level as their competitors, starting with a reduction of about 20% through the PEP Interlocking process.

Therefore, it is doubtful if there will be any privatisation bonus for those of us who are Forced Sellers and the only questions are should the shares be sold now or next year and at what price?

I might sell a few this year and buy a good portable engine-driven generator because I can see a lot of dark nights ahead as the fraudsters come in at the invitation of our ‘brown envelope brigade’ and turn a company with huge potential into another Eircom.

Crimson125 wrote: »

Hi All,

I'm helping out a relative with this at the moment given the deadline is tomorrow for sale forms.

On the FAQ on the ESOP site, it says the following :


Q21. How much are my shares worth? A: Beneficiaries are unable to sell notionally allocated shares and this means that it is not possible to provide a valuation of the shares at this time.



A formal valuation of the shares will take place at, but not before, appropriation. You should, however, be aware that the value at appropriation may not be the value you receive when the shares are sold on the internal market.





Is this information available anywhere ? I understand that the appropriation took place earlier in 2012, so that info must now be available ?


Valuing at €2.02 & a number of years of Potential future Dividends seems to make sense, though it really all is a black hole of mystery the way it works isn't it !

"ESOP Appropriation
Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Is the appropriation value the same as the price I will receive when I sell my shares?

A. No. The price you receive when you sell your shares will be determined by the internal market at the time you sell.
The appropriation value does, however, become the locked-in base cost for capital gains tax (CGT) purposes, with potential CGT based on any difference between the appropriation value and the sale price."

The appropriation price is a figure that was agreed with the Revenue Commissioners for tax purposes and is probably not a good guide as to the market value of the shares.

From ESOP Trustees Ltd. 2 May 2012:
"The appropriation value agreed with Revenue is €1.05 per share. This is based on a valuation of the 5% ESOP shareholding and is not a valuation of the ESB Group."

As the ESB ESOP is not the only one in the world there must be information available from other schemes regarding the value of shares. However, I do not know where you would find such data.

wiilow74 wrote: »

Anyone hear anything about the internal market today ie. the value that shares sold at ? Thanks

The ESOP share price will not be disclosed until Monday of next week. Check the ESB website on Monday evening for details.