Share deal does not seem so funny now

Court 12 in the Four Courts played host earlier this year to the suit between rock star Dolores O'Riordan and her nanny. Yesterday, the same courtroom witnessed the opening day of a clash between some of the biggest stars of the Irish corporate world.

However, Fyffes vs DCC in an insider trading case doesn't have the same popular appeal as a case involving a nanny to pop royalty threatening to spill the beans. By the afternoon some journalists were slipping out from a case that may not yet live up to its billing.

The morning had its moments. The journalists packed into the empty jury box and a decent turnout of business figures filled the back benches. Nearest the door sat the Fyffes camp, including brothers Carl and David McCann, chairman and chief executive, respectively, of the international fresh fruit distributor.

Over near the windows sat a stern-looking Jim Flavin, founder and chief executive of the industrial holding company DCC. In the morning he was accompanied by DCC non-executive directors Maurice Keane (former chief executive of the Bank of Ireland) and Tony Barry (former chief executive of CRH).

It was that sort of a gathering. There were three senior counsel for each side, solicitors from Arthur Cox and William Fry, and spin doctors to beat the band.

Fyffes counsel Paul Gallagher SC suggested that Ms Justice Mary Laffoy might, at some stage, like to listen to tapes of a conversation between Mr Flavin and Davy stockbroker Ronan Godfrey. The tapes will assume some significance, he said.

A laugh from Mr Flavin can be heard on the tapes, Mr Gallagher said. It comes after Mr Flavin has told the stockbroker that he, Mr Flavin, has no authority to deal in the shares that are at the heart of the case. Looking at Mr Flavin as Mr Gallagher made this remark, it was hard to imagine the DCC chief ever laughed.

The case can be reduced to two simple propositions, Mr Gallagher said, igniting great interest among the press pack. Who dealt in the Fyffes shares in February 2000, and did Mr Flavin have price-sensitive information at the time?

Fyffes says Mr Flavin did have price-sensitive information and did deal in the shares. DCC, Mr Gallagher said, says a Dutch subsidiary of Fyffes dealt in the shares and Mr Flavin had no involvement other than to pass on an unsolicited bid for the shares to the subsidiary.

The Dutch subsidiary is called Lotus Green and Fyffes is alleging that Mr Flavin was a shadow director of this company.

The figures involved are big. The share sale netted €106 million for DCC. Two months later, the shares were worth half as much.

If DCC loses, then it could be forced to hand over all the profit (€85 million) it made from the shares, which it bought in 1981. The institutions who bought the shares may look for money.

By the afternoon, Mr Gallagher was talking about the price of bananas and even, at one stage, apologised if he was boring the judge. He is to continue his opening remarks today.