INDEPENDENT Newspapers director and part owner of the Sunday World, Mr Gerry McGuinness, has sold more than £1 million worth of Independent shares. The latest deal means he has raised more than £5 million selling shares in the company over the past three years.
Mr McGuinness sold 200,000 ordinary shares at 510p on Monday. Mr McGuinness now holds 2.248 million shares, or 1.854 per cent of the company's issued share capital.
He also holds a further 235,000 share options. Independent shares have been trading strongly in recent weeks on the back of its £50 million pre tax profits last year. The stock closed at 518p yesterday.
Mr McGuinness has been steadily divesting himself of his stake in the group. Between 1993 and 1994 he sold of shares worth £3 million in a number of tranches.
Last December, he sold over 300,000 shares for £1.16 million. Last September, Mr McGuinness made £222,000 profit by buying 140,000 Independent shares at an option price and then selling them into the market, while separately selling another 140,000 shares he already held.
At that time the shares were fetching 365p each.
In June 1993 he sold 500,000 of the company's shares at 370p each, realising £1.85 million.
