Quinn confirms Athlone Extrusions buyout

The management of plastics manufacturer, Athlone Extrusions, has bought the company from the Quinn Group in a deal said to be valued at €55 million, The Irish Times learned yesterday.

The Quinn Group, owned by Co Fermanagh businessman, Mr Seán Quinn, acquired Athlone Extrusions when it bought plastics and radiator group, Barlo plc, last April for €84 million.

A Quinn Group spokesman confirmed yesterday that the Athlone-based company's management, Mr Enda Cunningham, Mr Jackie Brown and managing director Mr James McGee, have bought the business. He did not reveal the price, but it is understood to be in the region of €55 million.

Athlone Extrusion's management was originally poised to buy back the company from Barlo through a vehicle called Hasik Ltd as part of the aborted management buyout (MBO) proposed by the radiator group's chief executive, Dr Tony Mullins.

That deal would have included Barlo plastics facilities in Newbridge Co Kildare and the Czech Republic. Hasik was set to pay a total of €68 million for those factories and the Athlone plant.

The agreement with Quinn does not include the Kildare and Czech facilities, hence the cheaper price. It was not possible yesterday to establish how Mr McGee and his colleagues funded the purchase.

Barlo paid €56 million for Athlone Extrusions in January 2001. The price valued it at around €1.20 a share and was criticised at the time as it placed a heavy premium on the plastics company,which had traded at 65 cent a month earlier.

However, Barlo argued at the time that the price paid was a reasonable multiple of 11-times earnings, and said that it had prospects of growth through developing its European markets.

Mr McGee made €5.6 million at the time, while the family of a previous managing director, the late Mr Pat Ryan, made over €10 million from the sale.

Athlone floated on the Dublin and London stock exchanges in early 1998. The flotation valued the company at €53.3 million, or €1.16 a share. It initially traded above this level and by 2001 the shares had slipped well below that price.

The company dates back to 1971, and its current management bought it out originally in 1990. It converts polystyrene and ABS granules into coloured sheet and film plastic. It sells this to moulding operators who convert it into refrigerator linings and furniture items. Its main markets are in the UK and Europe.

Quinn Group trumped Dr Tony Mullins-led MBO bid for Barlo in the spring with an 48 cent a share/€84 million offer for the company.

Shareholders who had been waiting since the previous July, when Dr Mullins first made an indicative offer, accepted this last April.

Yesterday's deal means that the business has effectively acquired Barlo's core radiator and plastics businesses for €29 million. Quinn Group combines building materials, glass energy, insurance, hotels and radiators.