O'Brien resigns from B of I ahead of flotation

Denis O'Brien has resigned as deputy governor of the Bank of Ireland, a year after his appointment to the prestigious position.

A source close to the businessman said he is preparing for the flotation later this year, on the New York Stock Exchange, of his Caribbean mobile phone company, Digicel.

The sale could net Mr O'Brien $2 billion (€1.57 billion) or more as Digicel may be worth up to $2.5 billion and is 87-90 per cent owned by Mr O'Brien.

He also yesterday resigned his position on the court or board of the Bank of Ireland, a position he was appointed to in 2000.

There was no statement from Mr O'Brien, who it is understood has resigned from, or is in the process of resigning from, almost all non-executive directorships of Irish firms that he does not own. These include Norkom and the Smurfit School of Business.

The bank's board was told of Mr O'Brien's decision by letter on Monday ahead of yesterday's scheduled meeting. It is understood the move came as a surprise. The bank issued a statement yesterday saying the decision takes effect immediately and that Mr O'Brien had said "his growing international business interests together with the demands of an extensive travel schedule, meant that he could no longer devote the time required to the ever-increasing workload of the court".

Governor Richard Burrows, on behalf of the board, thanked Mr O'Brien for the contribution he had made since 2000. The bank's latest annual report, for the year to end March 2006, shows Mr O'Brien attended eight of the nine board meetings held that year. It also shows he attended all four of the nomination and governance committee meetings, and all six of the remuneration committee meetings.

Mr O'Brien established Digicel after spending $47.5 million on a licence in Jamaica in April 1999. The company began operations five years ago and has since grown at a rapid rate, raising hundreds of millions in loans and bonds to fund its expansion.

It has operations in 20 Caribbean markets and a total of 2.6 million subscribers. It is also developing a presence around the Pacific rim, as well as targeting Central and South America.

Mr O'Brien has been examining the potential for entering the US telecoms market. Last week, he told US newspaper USA Today that he intends to enter the US prepaid market in early 2007. It is not clear how the decision to float Digicel fits in with Mr O'Brien's decision to move into the US market but the sale will make him very cash rich.

The board of Digicel includes long-time associates of Mr O'Brien, Lucy Gaffney and Leslie Buckley. The other members are: accountant Greg Sparks; Fianna Fáil strategist, PJ Mara; former Digicel chief executive Séamus Lynch, and David Sykes, a stockbroker who manages Mr O'Brien's family office in Dublin.

Accountant Ozzy Kilkenny was a founder shareholder in Digicel, but fell out with Mr O'Brien and was bought out early last year after an adjourned court clash.