FINANCIER PAUL Coulson realised almost €36.5 million from a partial encashment of his personal investments in a reorganisation of his Luxembourg-based business empire, The Irish Timeshas learned. Arthur Beesley,Senior Business Correspondent, reports

The owner of Ardagh Glass and Rexam, the world's biggest drinks can manufacturer, took money off the table twice in the past two years by selling shares in his investment vehicle Yeoman. A veteran investor who has built up significant wealth, Mr Coulson is known to have considered acquiring a 21 per cent stake in Eircom in the takeover battle that saw a consortium led by Sir Anthony O'Reilly take control of that business in 2001.

Public filings in the Luxembourg companies registry indicate that Mr Coulson realised some €26.5 million from the sale of his shares in a little-known quoted vehicle called Yeoman International Holdings when it was delisted from the Luxembourg stock exchange last July.

As owner of a 32.8 per cent stake in the business, he also realised some €9.95 million in March 2006 when the company bought back shares and cancelled them. A total of €30.1 million was returned to shareholders at that time.

A privately held company called Yeoman Capital was established in Luxembourg last September to manage the investments previously held by Yeoman International Holdings, but the modality of the transfer of assets and the price at which they were valued is not known.

The business is significant. In addition to Ardagh and Rexam, which was acquired last March at a cost of some €600 million, Yeoman International Holdings owned shares in "green cement" company Ecocem Materials, commercial property in Poland, an investment in "DNA traceback" company Identigen and other technology investments.

The group's interest in Ardagh was carried at a "fair value" of €8.2 million on its balance sheet a year ago and its interest in Ecocem was carried at a valuation of €6.3 million. Its Polish property investments were carried at €4.3 million in the books and technology and other investments were valued at €1.7 million.

Accounts for Yeoman International Holdings say that its shareholders who wished to retain an interest in its assets were invited to invest in Yeoman Capital. The terms of the offer were not immediately available from the stock exchange in Luxembourg.

Accounts for Yeoman International show that its annual profit after tax increased to €26.62 million in the year to February 2007 from €23.54 million a year earlier.

Yeoman International Holdings realised €58.6 million from the disposal of its holding in South Wharf when the former Irish Glass Bottle plant at Ringsend was sold to Bernard McNamara, Derek Quinlan and the Dublin Docklands Development Agency.