Philip Lynch, a former chairman of An Post, has become the first person in the history of the State to be found to have engaged in insider dealing, according to the Sunday Times.
Mr Lynch – who has been chief executive of two publicly listed companies in Ireland, One51 and IAWS – has accepted a fine of €75,000 from the Central Bank of Ireland and disqualification from being involved in a regulated financial services company for five years. This is punishment for contravening market abuse regulations while he was a director of C&C, which makes Bulmers cider.
The finding is the result of a more than 10-year investigation, and relates to his purchase of 200,000 shares in the company on October 21, 2008, when it was searching for a new chief executive, according to a report on the story in the Business Post.
Quanta to spend €300m on on warehouses
Property player Quanta Capital plans to spend €300 million snapping up warehouses from cash-strapped small businesses, according to the Sunday Times.
The newspaper reported that Oaktree Capital-backed Quanta intends to spend the money on buying warehouses and logistics centres from small businesses in need of capital, and then leasing the properties back to them.
Such deals will free up capital for these businesses while reducing their property market risk.
Quanta has already agreed 12 transactions worth €85 million in all, the Sunday Times said.
The company established the €300 million fund after withdrawing a bid for Yew Grove Real Estate Investment Trust last year.
Managed by former professional cyclist Mel Sutcliffe, Quanta manages €1 billion worth of assets and is one of the biggest investors in logistics in the Republic. It also owns more than 45,000sq m of offices, including 23 Shelbourne Road, which it bought from Colony Capital last year.
Venture capital deals
Irish companies raised a record €382 million in venture capital across 25 deals in the January to March period, the Business Post reported.
New figures show a strong start to 2022 after a record year in 2021, when 287 venture capital deals with a combined $1.87 billion (€1.77 billion) took place.
The total raised by Irish businesses was the highest ever recorded during the first quarter of the year.
Figures compiled by KPMG from researcher Pitchbook show activity soared here despite slowing worldwide in the face of geopolitical and economic pressures.
Deals done during the quarter included fast food ordering software maker, Flipdish’s $100 million fund raising, which valued the business at $1.25 billion.
Another big transaction during the three-month period was the $150 million secured by Wayflyer, which provides online businesses with revenue, financial and marketing analysis.
Bord na Móna stake sale in subsidiary
State-owned Bord na Móna is seeking a buyer for its 50 per cent stake in energy technology company, Viotas, which the Sunday Times estimates could be worth €35 million in all.
The company has hired accountants Deloitte to find a buyer for the stake, it said. Viotas develops technology that aids businesses in managing the energy demands they make on the national electricity grid.
Its technology remotely controls back-up generators to cut companies’ energy requirement from the grid during times of peak demand, when electricity is most needed and the cost is highest.
Businesses that use this so-called “demand-side management” approach can receive capacity payments similar to those given to electricity generators for making themselves available to produce power as it is needed.
Whiskey acquisition
Paddy Whiskey-owner Sazerac is poised to buy Lough Gill Distillery in Co Sligo, producer of emerging rival Athrú, according to the Sunday Independent.
The newspaper maintains that talks on North American-based Sazerac’s bid to buy Lough Gill are at an advanced stage.
Software entrepreneur David Raethorne founded Lough Gill Distillery in 2014. Sazerac is understood to be prepared to pay more than €40 million for the company, according to a source quoted by the Sunday Independent.
According to the report, Sazerac, owner of Southern Comfort, has approached several distilleries to find a new producer for Paddy, either through a joint venture or outright acquisition.
Irish Distillers, which sold Paddy to Sazerac in 2016, continues to produce the well-known Irish whiskey at its plant in Midleton, Co Cork, under the terms of that deal.
