LONDONDUBLIN, June 2 Reuters Ireland39;s Finance Ministry and Britain39;s NatWest Group said on Friday they had jointly sold 54.6 million shares in Permanent TSB representing 10 of the Irish bank39;s share capital.

The shareholders will receive close to 110.5 million euros 121.64 million from the accelerated share placement, or 55.2 million euros each. They had originally set out to sell a combined 6 of the Irish bank.

The Irish state will continue to hold 57.4 of PTSB while NatWest will retain a 11.7 stake.

The deal will help improve liquidity and interest in the bank as we continue preparations for a wider disposal programme in the coming years, Irish Finance Minister Michael McGrath said in a statement.

PTSB, the smallest of the three domestically owned banks that survived Ireland39;s financial crash a decade ago, was effectively nationalised in 2011.

The Irish government cut its 99.2 shareholding to 75 in a share offer in 2015 but had not sold any shares in the bank since.

NatWest took a near 17 share in the bank as part of PTSB39;s recent acquisition of around 7.6 billion euros 8.37 billion of loans and assets from NatWest39;s Irish unit Ulster Bank, which is exiting the Irish market. That diluted the Irish government39;s holding to 62.

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Reporting by Pablo Mayo Cerqueiro in London and Conor Humpries and Graham Fahy in Dublin; editing by Jason Neely

Source Reuters