Quinn's losses on Anglo spiral past €1.5bn mark
Sean Quinn invested heavily when Anglo shares were riding high
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THE voting rights of billionaire Sean Quinn at Anglo Irish Bank will be squeezed from an estimated 15pc to 3.75pc as the Government prepares to inject €1.5bn for 75pc control of the bank.
The family of country's richest man is believed to be nursing a loss of over €1.5bn from the stake it built up in Anglo -- mainly over the course of last year when the stock was still riding high.
Anglo's shares were changing hands at an average of about €15 apiece while Mr Quinn was buying, according to market sources. This equated to a market capitalisation of about €11.4bn for the bank at the time and a valuation of around €1.7bn on the Fermanagh-born cement-to-insurance tycoon's stake.
The shares closed at 35c on Friday, valuing the bank at €266m and valuing the 15pc Quinn holding at just under €40m. A spokesman for Mr Quinn declined to comment yesterday.
Mr Quinn first declared his 15pc interest in Anglo last July, having previously held the stake through complicated financial instruments, called contracts for difference (CFDs). The use of these investment products allowed Mr Quinn to borrow heavily to acquire his position.
A loophole in the stock market rules allowed the businessman to avoid declaring his holding by using CFDs, whereas owners of actual shares must show their hand once they own over 3pc of a publicly-quoted company.
The businessman said in July that he was converting the CFDs into ordinary shares and dispersing the stock among his family. However, none of the Quinn family has since declared a stake in Anglo to the stock exchange -- suggesting that each has a holding below the key 3pc threshold.
In October, it emerged that Mr Quinn broke rules governing insurance companies when Quinn Insurance secretly loaned €288m to another financial company last year. The money is believed mainly to have been used to fund his bet on Anglo.
The broader Quinn Group -- which is made up of businesses ranging from cement to hotels and glass bottles -- took an €829m hit relating to those investments.
After a lengthy investigation by the watchdog, Quinn Insurance was fined €3.2m while Mr Quinn accepted a €200,000 personal penalty.
- Joe Brennan
